Past the Point of No Return?
by Firstmate Fizz
Summary: The Opera Populaire never burned down, Raoul and Christine were never married, and the Phantom still lurks in the basement! Three best friends are thrown into Paris and worry they'll never get back to 2005. But...Do they even want to go back?
1. A Little Lightning

Okay… obviously this story was inspired by the Phantom of the Opera movie, and of course my best buds, Jack and Will. I do not own any of the characters here within nor the titles and all that jazz. If I did, I would not be writing a fan fic based on it. I would be writing a sequel to the book, and another movie script. These chapters won't be too lengthy. I've never been one for length anyway. I have the horrible of condensing things into a single paragraph. I hope you like and please review!

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"Come on, damn it!" Nicole cursed as she whacked the video recorder with the palm of her hand until a clear picture showed up on the TV screen. It was a damp and rainy July day and the trio was in Elsa's room. Danielle had flown back from California with Elsa and they were all spending as much time as possible with each other.

The Phantom of the Opera DVD had previously been released that May, which they were totally obsessing over and watching nearly every second, but when the DVD player shorted out due to a burst of lightning the three had no choice but to act out the movie themselves.

"Are you so sure we should be doing this? You know… it is raining and lightning out side. I don't think electronics are something you want to be messing around with," Danielle said from her sitting position on the bed in the fluffy pink dress from the masquerade scene. They were all already in their magnifique costumes that they had put together and made their selves. Danielle was playing the role of Christine, Elsa was Erik the Phantom and made a rather astonishing Don Juan look alike, and Nicole, playing the role of Raoul, was dressed in a white ruffle top shirt and black trousers along with her 'painted' boots.

Elsa sighed impatiently as she waited for the 'tech genius' to figure out how to press the record button. "What scene are we starting with anyway? Mirror in Chrissy's bedroom? Phantom of the Opera? Tell me!"

"I don't know," Nicole pressed the record button on the cam, "Just start singing something."

"Fine! Be zat way!" Elsa huffed in her French accent and pushed herself away from the wall, taking her position behind the floor length mirror she had bought from Amazon long ago to make her room more 'lair-ish.' Danielle had immediately taken the hint and rushed to Elsa's vanity, where she began brushing her hair, and Nicole adjusted the camera before running into the closet to prepare to bang on the door with suspicion.

Skipping the scenes that would be difficult to record with the camera and the limited space they had, Elsa's voice began belting in a wonderous tone, "_I am your angel of music…come to your angel of music…" _The lights began to flicker as Elsa continued to sing. Nicole stepped out of the closet to check on the equipment. _"I am your angel of music…come to your angel of music…" _

As Nicole touched the camcorder to stop it, she was instantly thrown back into Danielle, and as a domino effect, knocked over the mirror and landed on Elsa. Later, the camera would have shown them hit the floor and then disappear in an instant. No smoke, no dust, no flash of light, just disappearing.

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NOW REVIEW PEOPLE! Heh… please? 


	2. Foils May Clash

Elsa's eyes flashed open the moment they hit the murky, green water. Nicole and Danielle were panicking and holding onto each other, not knowing what to do or where to swim. Elsa just swam over to them, smacked them both across the cheek and pointed upwards, then swam in that direction, soon being followed by the two-thirds of the Three Stooges.

Once to the top they all gasped for air. The water was recognizable enough, but the sound of an organ being played in the distance, and then abruptly stopping just confirmed their suspicions. They were indeed in the phantom's lair.

Soft footsteps could be heard coming towards them. The splash must have alerted a particular someone. They slowly made their way over to hide behind a ruined wall. A soft glow was coming from the corridor ahead of them, and growing nearer as they pressed their bodies to the cold stone, all of them having pretty much the same thoughts of "Please don't kill me" in their heads.

The light of a candelabra could be seen as the footsteps halted where the walkway ended, no more than a few yards away from the three young women. The light was shed as far as it could go and into every corner until it stopped. The three looked over to where the light had halted. Part of Danielle's pink dress was sticking out from behind the rocks, floating above the surface. Unfortunately, it was something none of them had noticed, but the Phantom had.

"Oh, what do we have here?" a question came from the deep voice of the Phantom.

"What should we do?" whispered Danielle to Nicole and Elsa. Nicole shrugged, completely clueless on the subject. Elsa sighed and did what only she knew to do. Either way they were probably going to die, so why not be noosed and get it over with? She swam out from behind the dilapidated wall and tugged the other two behind her.

"Monsieur, we mean no harm. Just a tad lost… and wet," Elsa spoke up. Indeed they were drenched in their costumes, and beginning to get cold. The Phantom's smoky blue eyes looked over Elsa, noticing her Don Juan-ish clothing.

"Mocking me are you? Mocking me in my humiliation?" Erik's temper was indeed rising as he said these words. Nicole and Danielle already had the right idea to get out of the flooded catacombs, swimming towards the only bit of light they could see that was flooding down from a staircase. Elsa waded there for a moment before the phantom shoed her away. "Be gone with you! Never return!" were the words that the angry voice screamed behind her as she quickly swam to catch up with her friends.

Nicole and Danielle were sitting on the broken steps trying to catch their breath as they helped Elsa up out of the water. Elsa's brown eyes drifted around for a moment before going to Nicole's side. "Where did you get that?" Elsa, of course, was referring to the rapier that was newly accessorized to Nicole's Raoul costume.

"I found it on the stairs when we got here. Figured we might need it, considering we have never been seen in Paris before, and we are dressed like a few of the main characters in the movie. A little suspicious, don't ya think? Besides, I can fence just as good as any Erik or Raoul," She replied proudly. Danielle was half walking and half crawling up the steps to see what was around the corner.

"Look! It's my room… err Chrissy's room!" She shouted down to the others. Elsa and Nicole instantly scrambled up to the top of the stairs as well, peeking around the corner and into the room. It was empty. Elsa stalked her way to the mirror/door and pulled the latch on it, which made the door open.

She pushed Nicole to go in first, considering she was the one with the weapon, which was definitely going to come in handy as the shrill ring of another rapier being drawn and put into the wall next to her head came to their attention. Nicole's eyes slowly drifted up her attacker's form. From the polished black boots, to the black trousers and the white ruffle top shirt and finally to the horrible sideburns that her alter-ego had, she immediately recognized him as the Vicomte Raoul de Chagny.

Quickly her hand reached for her weapon, which luckily countered another one of the Vicomte's attacks. Elsa and Danielle had taken to hiding behind the dressing screen. "Who are you? I demand you to tell me!" the Vicomte asked as he lunged at Nicole again, who parried his attack with her own sword.

"I'm your mini me! Can you not tell from the clothing! You aren't—GAH!" Her reply was cut off by an incoming slash to her waist. Dodging it did not prove to be as useful this time; de Chagny had clipped her shirt making a rather large hole in the side of it. "Okay, I wasn't going to counter attack, but this was a 70 dollar shirt from Ralph Lauren! As I was saying, you… aren't… going… to believe this… but I'm from… the year … 2005!" She slashed in between the pauses in her speech.

Raoul and Mini-Raoul fought between each other with all their might, but Nicole had one thing that the official de Chagny didn't: the knowledge of martial arts. Nicole gave the vicomte a swift kick to the chest, which knocked him down and knocked the wind out of him. It probably hurt like hell as well considering she was wearing boots, and now one boot was on the chest of the vicomte as she stood above him. "My friends, Elsa and Danielle, and I are from the year 2005. By some freak accident we ended up down there in the dampest place in Europe next to Venice, which explains why we are wet. And now, we are in Christine's bedroom, and so are you, but it looks as if we've got the upper hand in things."

A cough came from Raoul before he tossed his weapon to the side showing that he surrendered. Raoul Junior lifted her foot from his chest and let his sit up. When he caught his breath finally and all three young ladies were in plain view, he finally asked the question that everyone saw coming, "How do you know all of this?"

"You see, your lives were made into a movie in our time, and well, we are a tad obsessed with it and know the whole thing by heart!" Danielle chimed in. The Vicomte looked utterly confused, and sort of angry when he finally looked upon Elsa, but the angry expression soon turned to a sort of smirk as he saw that they were all indeed female and that Elsa wasn't Erik at all. "I suppose I have no choice but to believe you girls. No one here knows how to use such defense on a person as you did. And who is this Ralph Lauren you speak of?" Raoul pulled himself up off of the floor and onto the vanity bench.

"Ralph Lauren is—" Nicole was cut off by the door opening and the original Christine Daae walking into her room. Her eyes shifted from Raoul, to Nicole, to Danielle, and then to Elsa. With a shriek, she fainted.


	3. A Song from the Three

Raoul rushed to his former lover's side, brushing his hand along the side of her face. Elsa, Danny, and Nicole were still standing there, in awe of their idols right before them. Soon enough they came to their senses and assisted Raoul in lifting the diva from the floor and to the fainting couch. A few moments after unconsciously hearing the chatter between the girls and the vicomte, Christine woke to the soft lights around her and four people staring at her. "Raoul, who are they? Why are they in my dressing room? And why are they dressed as you, me… and the phantom?"

Elsa sighed and stepped forward. "Jeebus… We are going to be explaining this for a while," She said and sat down in the floor, making herself comfy for the tale.

* * *

"How? How did they get down here?" Erik spoke to himself as he sat at his piano, pondering the earlier encounter with the three ladies. "They couldn't have gotten here any other way than Christine's bed room, but that door is only accessible from this side. And certainly there wouldn't have been such a splash if they had entered from that way. Magicians possibly? Preposterous! Slight of hand, trap doors, tricks of the eye… that's all magic is. And I know where every trap door in this opera house is. I designed every inch of this building."

He began to pace the floor, still pondering how they could have possibly gotten in. "But that one… the one as me… surely she meant no harm. They couldn't have meant harm, there was too much fear in their eyes. I must know who these girls are. Certainly not new ballerinas. Giry would never let them prance around in outfits like that, no, never."

Erik had indeed grown a new curiosity for the girls, particularly Elsa, who had always been fascinated with the phantom. Once Erik had his mind intent on something, he would do everything possible to succeed. This time, he was intent on discovering who these new women were.

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"And that's how we got here. I'm the brains, Danielle's the beauty, and Nicole's the brawn. 'Nough said," Elsa finished up their story. Raoul had already heard a shortened version of it, so he only paid attention to the parts that hadn't been thoroughly explained by Nicole, and on the parts he was bored of hearing, he was busy twirling a flower from one of the many bouquets in his fingers. Nicole and Danny were getting a kick out of watching Christine's expressions.

"Oh, so you know the songs by heart? Sing for us then," Christine smiled in her excitement as she said this, anxious to hear what the girls had memorized. The girls looked at each other and whispered before they decided on one song, standing beside each other. Nicole began shortly after:

"_No more talk of darkness, forget these wide-eyed fears. I'm here, nothing can harm you- my words will warm and calm you. Let me be your freedom, let daylight dry your tears. I'm here, with you, beside you, to guard you and to guide you…"_

Danielle then began as Christine, "_Say you love me every waking moment, turn my head with talk of summertime… Say you need me with you now and always… promise me that all you say is true- that's all I ask of you…"_

"_Let me be your shelter, let me be your light. You're safe, no one will find you. Your fears are far behind you."_

"_All I want is freedom, a world with no more night… and you always beside me to hold me and to hide me…"_

"_Then say you'll share with me one love, one lifetime… Let me lead you from your solitude. Say you need me with you here, beside you. Anywhere you go, let me go too- Christine, that's all I ask of you…"_

"_Say you'll share with me one love, one lifetime. Say the word and I will follow you…"_

"_Share with me each day with me, each night, each morning…"_

"_Say you love me…"_

"_You know I do…"_

They both began to sing together then.

"_Love me- that's all I ask of you. Anywhere you go let me go too… love me- that's all I ask of you."_

Nicole and Danny smiled over to Elsa, for it was her turn to burst out into the sing along.

"_I gave you my music, made your song take wing, and now, how you've repaid me- denied me and betrayed me. He was born to love you when he heard you sing… Christine…" _During this short break, Elsa snatched a flower from one of the vases and kneeled, crushing the flower within her hand and acting as if she was pouting, then stood up, threw the flower to the floor and burst into song again. "_You will curse the day you did not do all that the phantom asked of you!"_

Raoul was standing and applauding the trio, mouth gaped open, speechless at the talent. Christine was in tears, clapping as well. Erik, the phantom, who had been hiding behind the mirror the entire time upon hearing his song being sung, was even in tears. "So much beauty in the voice coming from the body of one young woman. And the mask doesn't look too bad on her either," he whispered to himself before he retreated back into his dark quarters.

"Well… I'm sure Madame Giry would not mind if you stayed in the dormitories until you found a way back home. Perhaps you two could learn to dance and assist in the chorus? And maybe the… erm… mini me could be a double for the fight scenes? Christine, what do you think?" Raoul looked over to Christine who was sitting back on the couch, still in perfect awe.

Her mouth began to form words before she was interrupted by Elsa, "Whoa, wait just a minute there Ravioli! You think I'm a dancer? Ballet? Ha! The singing part, why not, but I am not a dancer."

"Well, I'm sure Andre and Firmin would be more than happy to let you help with set design then."

"That's more my style…thanks ol' chap."

"Then I shall be off to arrange with Madame Giry and the managers," Roaul exited the room, but shortly afterward poked his head in the door again, "And when I return I expect that we—"

Nicole stepped forward and spoke the exact same words as her alias was, " Can we go to supper?" Blank stares were given to each other by Raoul and Raoul Junior as the other girls chuckled.

"No wonder he's my alter-ego… we think about food constantly," Nicole said as she moved to the couch to sit down, but was quickly stopped by Christine who was shoving Raoul out of the door, still holding onto Nicole's arm so that she wouldn't sit and get the couch wet, "Okay, out with you now, Raoul. We must find clothes for these girls to wear if we are to go to dinner. They can't go drenched!"


	4. Food, Fun, and a Stalker?

Hours of squealing, gasping for air, and giggling in Christine's dressing room halted after Raoul finally knocked on the door, "Is every one decent for me to enter?"

"Yes," Christine answered. Several pleas of "Help me!" and "Get me out of this thing!" from Elsa and Nicole rang from the opposite side of the door as Raoul entered, slowly of course. Danielle was dressed in a nice cream colored dress, and seemed content, but Elsa and Nicole seamed irritated in the pale green and light blue dresses Christine had stuck them in.

"I can barely breathe…" Nicole let out in a nearly humiliated breath. She despised dresses, especially the fluffy ones of this time. "Damn the19th century styles in France. Damn it all." She sighed as best as she could in the tight bodice. "How hard is it going to be to eat?"

"I think the tightness is not meant to make eating comfortable. Probably because stick thin, fragile and pale women were supposed to be beautiful. Bloody anorexic talcum covered wenches if you ask me," Elsa replied simply and plainly, barely being able to breathe herself. Raoul was only chuckling, along with Christine and Danielle, who were used to the tight corsets being wrapped around them. The story behind Danny's immunity is yet another one, however.

"Alright then, to supper. My carriage is waiting at the front," He helped all of the ladies up out of their seats and out the door. Being a viscount also required him to be a gentleman, even if he was not so kind to the phantom in the way that he was to the ladies. The phantom had once been after his love, and the shameful emotion of jealousy had corrupted both him and the phantom, causing a brute distaste for one another.

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The phantom had been getting ready himself, hoping that if he followed them out to wherever supper had been planned he would be able to find out a little more about these three girls, especially Elsa. He placed his ivory white mask over the misshapen part of his face, and his hooded cloak, to hide his face and to prevent suspicion of the mask to the public.

Erik pushed back one of the many black curtains that led to just one of the passageways into the opera house, his opera house. His movements were stealthy and quiet, comparing to that of a cat that was after a mouse. He followed not far behind Elsa and the others, keeping to the shadows and it was only when he heard the clip-clop of the white horses leading the vicomte's carriage travel into the distance that he cam out into the open.

* * *

Raoul had chosen a serene restaurant at the shore of the Seine River for the girls' first night in Paris, that is, in this time period. They were already halfway through dinner when Christine looked over to Raoul, "Oh, Raoul, may I ask why there is a whole in my wall the width of your rapier?"

His cheek's flushed, "I-I… um… heh…" That was his only reply until Nicole cut in, "He attacked me when we were coming out of the mirror, and I think you can already figure that he missed."

Raoul and Christine then began to bicker over not fighting in Christine's dressing room anymore. Erik was outside, smirking at the arguing two, but also watching Elsa intently. Nicole took in a sharp breath as she saw the phantom's dark figure looming outside of the window. She was probably the only one on that side of the table that could have seen him since she wasn't arguing.

Nicole tried waving at Elsa to get her attention. Well, that didn't work very well, considering she was busy pushing the escargot on her plate around with her fork. She didn't want to alert the others sitting at the table by saying her name, that would not be good. As a last resort, Nicole pinched a piece of bread from the small loaf that had come with her meal and tossed it at Elsa, hitting her right between the eyes with it. Elsa's head snapped up the instant that the bread fell onto her own face, giving a death glare to her friend across from her.

Nicole nodded her head towards the window, which was a horrible attempt at a signal. Elsa picked up her own loaf of bread and chucked it at the adjacent body, causing a short whimper and an "ow" to escape Nicole's lips. She picked up her remaining loaf and threw it back at Elsa, but missed and hit Danielle instead. Danielle in turn picked up a snail on her plate and threw it at Nicole, but it ended up landing on Raoul, which instantly stopped the argument between him and Christine.

Christine giggled at the sight and threw something from her plate, perhaps a noodle at Raoul, and this ultimately ended up in a food fight. "Muwhahaha!" Nicole let out an evil laugh as she threw more things, "Eat or be splattered!" Her shot off food off of her spoon flew to everyone at their table. Raoul chucked a vegetable of some sort at Danielle, but Danny ducked it and it hit the stomach of the chef, who had come out to see what all the commotion that he head was about. Erik was trying to hide his laughing from the pedestrians walking past him.

After much bickering and contorting, the group of five were shoved out of the restaurant and asked to never return to that particular restaurant again. Elsa, Danielle, and Nicole were drunk with happiness and were giggling and discussing things with each other as Raoul and Christine stood on opposite sides of the girls. They went back to the opera house in the vicomte's carriage, Erik followed them and retreated to his lair.

Once the others had entered the building, Nicole grabbed Elsa's arm to keep her outside. "Wha—What do you want!" Elsa groaned as she was drug back out onto the steps.

"I believe you have a stalker, my friend. I'm not talking about any Cameron Davis like stalker."

"You are such a stupid ass. You can't be stalked in Paris! Not if you are a part of the Opera Populaire!"

Nicole gave a doubtful look to her friend, "Certainly you could, especially if that stalker owned the opera."

"What? You can't possibly mean Erik! We just got here!"

"Why do you think I was throwing stuff at you and nodding to the window at supper?"

"I figured you were justbeing an ass."

"Not tonight I wasn't. He was standing there, watching you, outside the window."

"Oh come on… let's get to bed. We can talk about more of this in the morning."

And so they went inside to find the others.


	5. Conversation in the Dark

"Jack, Will…" Nicole's voice came up out of the darkness. Luckily, Madame Giry had put them in a room all together, by themselves. A few unhappy groans were the reply to Nicole's call to her friends. "What if we can't find a way back to two thousand five?"

"Can't we talk about this in the morning?" Danielle's voice came from Nicole's right.

"I suppose we could… but—"

"But shut the hell up! Its probably—" Elsa was interrupted by the bell of the city's clock tower. One…two… three… and four. "Four o'clock in the morning! Geez!" And then a fluffy white pillow was tossed through the air and into Nicole's bed. Nicole slowly rose, from her bed, pillow in hand, trotting over to her friends bed and firmly whacking her over the head with it. Elsa sprung up from her laying down position to a sitting position, staring her assaulter in the face, saying in a soft, high-pitched and lengthy tone "Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaamn yoooooooooooooou! You little prying Pandooooooooooooooora!"

Danielle pushed herself up out of the bed and walked over to Nicole, whacking her with he own pillow. Nicole was knocked over by the blow, face now in the covers. "Curse you! You little lying Delilah! Ouch," she yelled at her friend, but was barely at fifteen decibels when it was muffled out by Elsa's comforter and sheets.

Erik had been listening to the girls most of the night, listening to them sleep, making sure that no one was to harm them, particularly Elsa. He was in one of the many hidden corridors in the opera house, which led right beside the room they were staying in. The words that the girls had said, his cursing at Christine, had caused him to break into a fit of chuckles and laughs as he listened in on them. Silly eavesdropper.

Elsa sighed and pulled her friend back up from her bed. "Okay… considering we are all awake now. What do you mean 'if we can't get back'?"

Nicole turned her body to sit on the edge of her friend's bed, and Danielle followed in doing so. Nicole curled up her knees to her chest after pondering how to set the words around right, "I mean would we want to go back?"

"Well, yes, crazy!" Danielle popped Nicole in the back of the head with the palm of her hand, "We have friends and family there!"

"But it seems like we would have so much of a better life here. There are people that can understand us here," Nicole set a glance to Elsa, referring to Elsa's likeness to the phantom. "People aren't going to complicate things with technology because they don't have it yet. Besides, you know how big I am on theater and the arts. Do you honestly think I would be able to get a job back there doing what I love with all of the snobbed up people who choose their friends over talent? We have the opportunity to make lives for ourselves here, without all of our past marks; a fresh new start."

"What about our parents? They will be worried sick about us."

"Then let them be worried! We will not have to worry about them worrying. Wow… that was a mouth full. We won't have the stress of everyday life, the stress of college. Here you don't need a degree to be a designer, or have to have gone to school to be a professional singer or actress. It's the opportune moment."

"Damn you! That's my line!" Elsa chuckled to her friend. "Maybe you are right… what do we have back there that we couldn't do without? Doritos? Cheez-its? Tacos?"

"What about Lenny?" Danielle looked to Nicole, referring to her boyfriend.

Nicole sighed and thought upon this for a moment. Would she rather stay here with her true friends or go back to a life of daily stress and boredom to be with the guy she loved, or at least thought she loved? She didn't know the answer to that, so she only moved off of her friend's bed and back to her own, crawling under the covers again before she said, "Let's just rest on it and see what we think when we do find away back, eh?"

They all agreed and went to their own beds, saying good night to each other, pondering their thoughts and wondering if they really did want to go back. If they did, they would not be able to stay with each other, and there is the fact that Danielle would have to go back to California, and it may be a while before they would be able to spend time with each other again. Sure, they would miss their family, but maybe they would have a better life here in the Opera Populaire.

By the time the others would wake up the next morning, Nicole would be sitting at the window watching the sun rise, face stained with tears. She hadn't gone back to sleep, and probably only slept for a total of two hours that night. Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata" was playing in her head as she thought. Thinking about what she had back there and what she had here was tearing her in pieces, not being sure which to choose. Was it even possible to decide on which way to go? She was not entirely sure where she belonged, though a vast majority of her leaned towards staying at the opera, but there was still a small part of her that wished to go home.

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Aww... now isn't that just crushing? I'm crying! I'm just precious aren't I? Review please!


	6. Le passé le point d'aucun retour?

Yes, I have changed the name of my story, as well as my summary. I can thank my friend Jack for that one. I also changed the genres to be more suiting... sort of. Anyway, yes. How are you liking it so far? It's going slowly, I know, but it will pick up soon. I am open to suggestions and everything, considering I'll probably get stuck soon! And Ted, I know who ya are hun! hug

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The next day, Raoul and Nicole were on the stage, fencing against each other, their foils clashing against one another, making rhythmic taps and rings as they made contact. 'Point, step, step, switch,' Nicole kept telling herself in her head to keep up with Raoul. Both their brows were soaked with sweat. They had been fighting for a while now, possibly hours. After the not sleeping last night, but all of the thinking, she had some angst to let out, but her fighting performance was starting to show that she was unfocused. She had stepped on her own foot and fallen backwards, landing on her rear, which ended in Raoul having her rapier in his left hand, and his to her neck from his right.

"Are you alright?" the out of breath vicomte asked as he set the foils down at the edge of the stage, going back to help her up. Once she was up he motioned to one of the seats in the theater. "Come on… something is obviously bothering you," he said as he leaped down off of the stage and over to a seat.

She followed him to the front row, plopping down in one of the chairs. "I just don't know about anything. What if… if we do find a way back… what if I don't want to leave? What will that do to my family? Mon petit ami? Am I past the point of no return?"

"Oh, so you do have a boy friend back there then?" Raoul questioned, leaning forward in his chair slightly, elbows resting on his knees.

"Well… I do… but I'm not sure if I want to go back to him… he would be the only thing that I have to go back for, but I do not know if he's the one or not… and then I would live my life miserably, having the same day to day schedule. It would be deja vous, in constant repetition. The only person I have there that I really do consider family, other than Elsa and Danielle, is my father, but once Elsa and I moved in together, he left to travel the world. For all that I know, he's probably in Mongolia. "

"You could always stay here. I have never had a fencing partner as competitive as you, and honestly, I like it."

"Thanks… I guess I've always just been one of the guys. I never got along with girls that well until I met Elsa. Even when I met her, it still took a little to get used to. As for my boyfriend… well, I'm not sure what I want to do."

"Do you love him?"

"What kind of a question is that?"

"It's a straight forward question. Do you love him?"

"You shouldn't be asking me this, Vicomte. It's not very gentlemanly."

"It's not a rhetorical question either, so it is meant to be answered. Again, I'll ask it. Do you love him?"

Nicole was silent for a long time now, pondering over the question. After a moment, she rose from her seat and burst into song. "_Day after day I ponder what to do. Do I return to the one who calls me his and live a life that I know what is to become of me. Daily routines, silent ravines in conversation… is that the way I want to live? Or do I stay with my friends, my true family, and continue with no more drudgery?" _She stopped after she realized what she was doing, a bright red blush coming to her cheeks. As she looked to the ground, shuffling her feet, she spoke with discomfiture, "Damn this opera house. It makes everyone break into song at the most awkward moments."

The vicomte's mouth was hanging half open when she finished, but he quickly regained his composure. "It's the air… there's something in it. And believe me, I know what you mean about the breaking into song part. You all haven't even found a way back yet, so I'm sure you have plenty of time to think about it. I personally wish you would stay," with a rumble in his stomach, he stood, "And now—"

"To supper!"

* * *

"Aye, you two and your supper. Geez, can't you think of anything else?" Elsa chuckled, up in the catwalk. She had been standing up there the whole time watching them fence, among the knotted ropes and planks of wood, all in a messy rigging. Once Raoul and Nicole had closed the door on her way out, she backed her self up slowly to leave, but froze. She had bumped into something.

"Oh, please mademoiselle, don't be scared… it is only me. I believe you know me as Erik," the phantom spoke to her in a kind and gentle voice as he rested a hand on her shoulder.

Elsa quickly turned around, making the catwalk wobble slightly with her sudden shift. She was wondering how long he had been there, she hadn't felt him come up at all. "Hello, Erik. I'm Elsa. You never gave me a chance to properly introduce myself the other day."

"No, I did not, I apologize for that. I know how you got here, and your situation. I've been watching you since you sang with your friends to Christine and Raoul. I jumped to conclusions before."

"Yes, I've heard. My friend Nicole saw you when we were out at supper last night. Why reveal yourself to me n—" She was interrupted by Danielle, who was calling her name.

"Come on, Elsa! I know you are up there. Supper again!"

"Damn you, you ninny," she said under her breath before she climbed down the rope ladder. "Do not worry Erik… we can continue this conversation later, and believe me, we will."

Erik smiled as he watched her run off with Danielle. Supper. Again.

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Aww... the phantom has revealed himself to Elsa. What's gonna happen next? Who knows?


	7. Get Better Darn You!

Finally another chapter! It took me forever to write this one. I've been sidetracked lately with my play and all. Bleh on the play! Anyhoot. To the person who said my story was corny and DUMB (not "dumb" but "DUMB") 1-Corny, its a fanfic, its supposed to be corny. Besides, its a musical, we don't worry about realism. 2- if "DUMB" is the only word you can come up with to describe my fanfic, you aren't worth my time. I'd like to see you do a fanfic and do as much research as I have on a single story. Well, that was that. Now on to chapter 7!

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It had seemingly been forever since Elsa's encounter on the catwalk with the phantom, and she hadn't seen him again. Nicole had said nothing of seeing him stalking her anymore. Had Erik disappeared?

In the months that had passed, Danielle was taught to reach notes higher than she thought she ever would, moving up to a first soprano. Elsa had been given a gift for Christmas from Raoul, which was a violin, so she was performing with the orchestra now. Nicole, instead of being taught, had taught the singers the ways of jazz and rhythm and blues, and also, she taught Raoul some new fighting techniques with nin-jitsu, tae kwan do, kung fu, and karate.

Danielle was proud of her new found flexibility that she had due to all the ballet practice she was having as a chorus girl. She was beginning to become quite a star herself, with many of the young boys in Paris that had seen the shows where she had played side parts and sometimes an understudy for Christine. She was still not getting as many flowers and gifts at the prima donna, of course, but she was getting generous amounts of carnations and daisies in her room.

Elsa was extremely proud of her skills with the violin. With her slender hands, she held the bow and fingerboard perfectly, giving her great amounts of speed. She had excelled to nearly the best player in the orchestra, having the third chair. Among other things, she had learned quite a bit from watching the fencing between her friend and Raoul. She had even come down from the catwalks a few times to join them.

Speaking of Nicole and fencing, she received a very nice rapier for Christmas from her partner. The blade was strong steel and the hilt was inlayed with black stone and silver, very stylish.

There was one down fall with Nicole though. She had fallen sick, but it was more than just sniffles. She had a fever, burning up so much that her bed sheets were drenched in sweat. Horrible headaches forced her to be bed ridden as she purged any amount of any type of food that she tried to digest in a bucket beside of her. The medicine of the nineteenth century was not as advanced as people would have hoped. The most a person could do to get rid of a fever was wait it out. They either died or got better, and Elsa, Danielle, and Raoul were hoping for the latter, to say the least. Nicole's immunity system was never really that strong anyway. Her mother had… done some things while pregnant with her, which caused for several complications. Diagnosed with chronic migraines, breathing problems and being lactose intolerant made it extremely hard for her growing up.

No one was let near her for a long while, until the stubborn Vicomte demanded to be let in along with Elsa and Danielle. After he had threatened to shut the opera house down (even though he would never do that) they finally let them in. Nicole was awake, sketching on a spread out paper bag with charcoal. Her lips were chapped, and her face was pale and had a greenish tint to it, her eyes had dark circles around them from lack of sleep. She had lost probably at least 25 pounds so her face was thinner than it used to be.

Once they entered the room, her head popped up and the first smile that anyone had seen on her in weeks crossed her lips as she spoke, "Hey! I haven't seen you guys in ages… or at least it seems like ages." Her voice was very stuffed up and was cracking with every breath.

Danielle ran over to her and hugged her friend around the neck. She felt the heat generating from Nicole's body. It was nearly unbearable to touch her for a while, but neither of the girls cared as Elsa joined into the hug. Tears were streaming down Danielle's face. She was the emotional one after all. Raoul was sort of just standing there, smiling a bit at the girls. He wasn't going to dare interrupt their hug fest a bit.

"We were wondering if you were dead or not since we hadn't seen you in forever," Danielle said, wiping her tear stained face with her sleeve.

Elsa sat down on the edge of her friend's bed as she spoke, "Yeah, Danny was worried about you, and so was I. A little stressed than normal."

Raoul didn't say anything. He just sat himself on the edge of the bed as well, watching the three girls converse. Eventually, after being silent for so long, Nicole punched him in the arm. It was a weak punch, one that normally would have been strong and full of force, but that was about as much force as she could put into anything. Her hands were shaky, and she was weak. Raoul could tell it, and so could everyone else. He knew she wasn't going to get any better unless by some miracle. Even the physicians that had been tending to her seemed to have no hope in it anymore.

"Why so silent, good monsieur?" Nicole asked, chuckling a little at her use of a line from the masquerade.

Soon enough, Raoul snapped out of his trance and smiled slightly, looking over to Nicole. "Ow," was his only reply to that. He had come up to see the condition of his fencing partner and he had seen the condition. He wasn't very happy with it either. "I've been dreadfully missing our fencing sessions," he spoke in a final attempt at conversation. He really had been missing them… a lot, but now he knew that they would never continue.

"So have I," she let out a sigh, "Raoul, you don't have to hide it. I know I'm going to die. I know how these things work. Tylenol and Nyquill weren't invented yet to get rid of fevers and bad sicknesses. Not to mention that the physicians here are a little un-experienced in my book."

Elsa thought on this for a moment, remembering to when she had read The Phantom of the Opera. It told of how Erik was a genius in nearly every field, including the medical field. "I can talk to Erik and ask him if he can help," she said after a minute or two.

"Yes! Can I go with you? Please, please, please?" Danielle pleaded. She thought the phantom was strikingly handsome.

"No, I'm going to go down and talk to him about Nicole, and not drooling and gaping over him," Elsa sternly replied to her friend before she exited the room. Raoul and Danielle stayed behind with Nicole, talking and comforting their friend as much as possible.

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Poor little me, all sick and stuff. About to die too! No one ever gets sick in these fanfics... at least not anyone that the author knows. Please review! Don't make me start bribing you! And Jack: NO NOT THE LAKE! 3 Fizz 


	8. A Desperate Visit

Another chapter! YEAH! Thank you all for the "Get well soon" reviews. I was just getting over it when I put up the last chapter, but I was reffering to "I" as Nicole considering that is me. Thanks again for all the reviews and comments and hopefully I will be able to post more since the play is over now and I'll have more time. I'm still open to suggestions, so feel free!

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Elsa made her way into Christine's room, walking over to the mirror and looking at it, looking around at its edges. A simple "Hmm" came from her mouth as she looked over it. Then, something caught her eyes. The door had actually been opened just slightly. Perhaps Erik had heard their conversation and knew she was coming?

Her fingers gently curled around the frame of the mirror and gave a firm tug on it, which made the mirror door open and swing back on its hinges. She then walked into the long and dark corridor, grabbing a lamp from Christine's room before she entered. Her hand grabbed the door again, pulling it shut before she started down the hallway again.

The legs that carried her were shaky as she walked down the passage, arms getting chill bumps over them as she went deeper under the opera house. Geez, how could Erik keep it so cold down here?

"Alright, careful where you ste—OHH!" The lamp shattered as she dropped it. Elsa had done the same thing Raoul had, opening the water trap. If it was not for some ones strong hand at the back of her trousers, she would be swimming for her life and trying to turn that wheel right now. Sturdy digits wrapped around her wrist firmly as she was lifted back into the passageway.

"You must be careful, Mademoiselle," Erik said as he moved a curtain which was painted to look like a wall and motioned her to follow him. Elsa then turned on her heels and trailed behind him, straightening up her trousers as they walked. After several twists, turns and step, they had reached the living area of the phantom. He motioned to the piano bench for her to sit down on as he remained standing.

"Thank you," She said, gladly taking his offer considering her legs were awfully shaky. She sort of felt as if she was breaking and entering all this time.

"Now, I am glad to see that you are okay. What is wrong with your friend? That is the reason you came to see me, is it not?" He questioned her, moving to lean against a wall.

Dang, he was a sneaky opera ghost, wasn't he? Elsa crossed her fingers together as she spoke to him, a sort of nervous tone in her voice, "Yes, that's why I came to find you. Nicole, she's sick. She's got a bad fever. Danielle and I didn't realize how serious it was because we are so used to the medicine of our time. We all know that she's going to die if she doesn't get the proper treatment. The physicians that are up there seem not to care since all they know is that she's just a new addition to the _Populaire_ that doubles for fight scenes and fences with the vicomte. I know of your medical knowledge and, well, I was wondering if you could help her."

"Why? She _is _only a new addition to my opera—"

"She's one of the two best friends that I have. When I made the huge move from my home to where I live—lived back where we are from, she was the only one that seemed to want to befriend me, or that I wanted to befriend. She got me, just like Danielle did. She understood me and my problems. She was there for me when all of the stupid people around us teased me or said I wasn't good enough. Her shoulder was always there for me to cry on and she stuck up for me when no one would weather I was right or wrong. Everyone else judged me and lied to me, but she was always honest with me, telling me what was on her mind if I bugged her. If she dies, all those qualities of a friend in her will die with her because she won't be here to keep them going. She won't be the one that's up front with me anymore," a tear drifted down her cheek as she spoke.

The thought of losing either Nicole or Danielle was so painful to her and now that she was about to lose one of them, she couldn't stand it. She had tried to keep from crying around everyone, but while Danielle slept in their room she had stayed up and cried. Being the one to never show her sensitive side in the group and be the support post for the other two, she couldn't let people see her cry, it may ruin her reputation.

Erik paced the floor for a moment or two. He had been touched by Elsa's speech. He was always the one with the problems and being judged on his actions, but he never had a friend to be there for him, to comfort him, to give him advice no matter how ridiculous he advice may have been. He then walked back into his room before he came back with a black leather bag that contained the standard utensils that a doctor would use for a check up of sorts in that time.

"I never had anyone for me, but I refuse to let that be taken from you," he said to her as he moved out to the gondola again. He was trying to protect her after all. He grabbed the pole from inside the boat before setting his bag down. Elsa happily hopped into the boat and Erik pushed them off.

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Wee! Phantom to the rescue! Review please!

Love from your beautiful author (heh heh),

Fizz


	9. What Am I Drinking?

Hey guys! Yay! Another chapter! This one is a tad bit more boring, sorry, but I felt it was necessary. I'm glad you all like my story so much! Thanks for all of the support and reviews. I love you all, and it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy when I get a good review from someone.

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As they made their way up to Nicole's room, Erik received odd looks from the nurses and doctors that were hanging around her door. Elsa forced them to separate with her body as she went through, leading Erik into the room.

Raoul and Danielle had been sitting there with Nicole the whole time. Now she was resting against her pillow, eyes closed as she breathed softly in her sleep. Lately, she could get so exhausted from a simple conversation. She just didn't have the energy for anything anymore. Once Erik and Elsa had entered, the door was immediately shut again, which made Raoul and Danielle quickly look to the two entering.

Upon seeing the masked figure, Raoul shifted uncomfortably in his seat. As said before, the Vicomte and the Phantom still were not on good terms even though Christine had broken off the engagement with Raoul. Things would always be tense between the two, and they both knew it, so Raoul tried to stay out of Erik's way as much as possible. The scar that was left on his upper arm that Erik's blade had made on that cold day in the graveyard nearly a year ago reminded him about how he could be hurt and how Erik could bleed him to death in a moment's time if he wished. Indeed it was a wise thing to stay out of the Phantom's way.

Danielle stared in awe at the tall, dark and handsome man that had just entered into her presence. She had to look twice actually to make sure it was really him standing just across from her.

"Would you all please leave the room while I work?" He asked, not harshly, but in a gentle tone. He didn't want to offend anyone while he was there. As Elsa began to leave he spoke up in protest, "Oh, not you… I may need you."

Elsa paused and slowly stepped her way back over to her sleeping friend's bedside. Erik slowly began to examine the girl. Nicole was a hard sleeper, so she wouldn't notice a thing. He didn't touch her, not once, he just stood hands behind his back the whole time, bending over and looking at her once in a while. Eventually he stood up and scribbled something on a piece of parchment in black cursive. His hand writing had such a flourish to it, absolutely beautiful. He handed the scrap of paper to Elsa, "Will you go and get those things for me?"

She nodded and ran out the door, down the many flights of steps and into the kitchen, running into the cook on the way in. "Bof! What are you doing in here, mademoiselle?"

Elsa gave an innocent smile to the overweight man before handing him the piece of paper, "Would you be so kind as to let me have those things?"

"Parsley, basil, oregano, boiling water, and… a cup? Why, mademoiselle, would you need all of this?"

"My friend, the one who is sick, another friend is helping her and, well, he needs these things apparently… I don't know why, I just know he does. Please? Can you get them for me? I would like for my friend to live," She responded to the cook's question, politely, as she always was to her elders.

After a moment of thinking if he had the three herbs, he nodded, disappearing into the back before re-entering the kitchen with the necessary things. "I will boil your water for you and call for some one to bring it up to you. I hope your friend gets well, mademoiselle." A gentle smile from the cook and Elsa was on her way again, climbing the steps to her friend's sick room again.

Raoul and Danielle were standing outside the door, talking between each other in soft whispers so that they would not disturb the ill. Elsa had not even noticed them on her way out, she had been so focused on just getting those ingredients that could possibly save her friend. "Will," she was speaking to Danielle, "In a few minutes can you run down and get the water? Thanks."

Danielle opened her mouth to ask on how Nicole was doing and what Erik was doing to her, but the door had slammed shut just before she had gotten the first annunciation out. Raoul raised his brow as Danielle darted down the steps, eager to help her friend. He then poked his head in the door, "Is there anything I can do to help?"

Erik was currently crushing the ingredients with a mortar and pestle. "Come in, Vicomte," he sighed, "Just don't touch anything."

Raoul narrowed his eyes at the Phantom. He did not enjoy being treated like a child, but he only came in and leaned against the wall beside the headboard on the side that Elsa was on, not wanting to be within a meter of Erik at the moment. He was the Vicomte of Paris for crying out loud! Not a mere child on a sugar high that wanted to push over every piece of pottery in the Louvre.

Elsa snickered at the obviously perturbed de Chagny who had crossed his arms and was now glaring at Erik with an evil eye. She only wished Nicole was awake to see the look on his face and poke fun at him for it.

"You can wake her up now." It was as if Erik had read her mind. She gently shook her friend, and with help from Raoul, finally got her into a sitting position, which instantly woke her up.

Nicole glared at Elsa for disturbing her rest, but most of all, for sitting her up. Nicole was the brawn of the trio, and she hated being rendered helpless and needing assistance. She was by no means angry at her friend though, she understood. They all wanted her to live, and to do that, she needed assistance.

Danielle then burst through the door, holding a pot of freshly boiled water from the kitchen. She put it on the nightstand before standing beside Erik to watch him work, not even paying attention to the other two and her woken friend in the room. The Opera Ghost was there, sitting beside her. Jade green eyes set on his work that was fueled by pale hands. Then there was that ivory mask that concealed his deepest secret. How could one side be so beautiful and perfect, but the other be so scarred and distorted to where he had to conceal it. It was almost as if his face was stuck in purgatory, the place where heaven and hell got confused with each other. There was a definite yin-yang to it all.

He gave a small growl when the hot water accidentally spilled on his hand when he was pouring it from the pan and into the cup. Then went in the mixture of herbs, and he stirred them together, turning it into a smelly, thick, green liquid. Erik's hand turned Nicole's face from the quiet conversation she, Raoul and Elsa had been engaged in while they waited. He lifted the cup to her lips, and she did all that she could from vomiting in the bucket again from the horrible stench.

Unwillingly, her mouth opened as the repulsive drink was forced down her throat, giving a burning sensation all the way down. Again, she did all she could to keep from throwing up into the pail beside her, which had been cleaned, mind you. Once it was all gone, Erik took the cup away and put it on the nightstand, picking up his things before exiting the room in silence. He did not want thanks, he did not want anything from them, he only wanted for Elsa to have her beloved friend live another day.

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Aww... he cares! Phantom to the rescue! I'm gonna make a Super Phantom comic strip... lol. I'm joking. I can't draw very well. What did you guys think? Oh and yes, I know I don't indent... I dont like the look of indentions, they are just... bleh.. and take up space, ya know? Anyway, yes, review please!

3 Your lovely Vicomte/author,

R.C.  
Nicole  
Fizz  
Whatever you want to call me.


	10. So What's All This Future Stuff?

Sorry that this is so short guys, but I couldnt think of much to put in this chapter. Thanks for all the reviews... oh and whoever asked me where Chrissy went, she'll be back in the next chapter.A lot of fan fics seem to have her in them... constantly... so I wanted to sort of break that away and it not be so Chrissy based. My friends and I are the main characters. Oh and as for why my chapters are so short: I tend to compact things, alot, since I write essays in school like constantly, so sorry about that, but if you wrote essays constantly, you would be compacting stuff too! Okay, read now. Please.

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A few days later, Nicole was able to stay awake and hold a decent conversation. Her face had color in it again, and her dark brown eyes were as curious and observant as ever.

Today, she was sitting up in her bed, taking the old clock that had been sitting on her nightstand apart. Her delicate fingers shifted through the pieces as she slowly unscrewed and plucked at the insides with her fingernails. She placed the unattached pieces neatly in separate places on her nightstand, labeling each one on a piece of paper as she went.

She froze and her head snapped up to the person who was coming through her door. It was only Raoul. He wouldn't care that she was ripping apart a clock, would he?

He smiled as he saw her up and awake, "Good morning, Mademoiselle Nicole. I see you've found something to destruct to cure your boredom." His head nodded to the pieces of clock on the stand as he pulled a rickety old chair from the corner of the room to sit in.

"Not destruct… just take apart and look at… I'm curious. Why do you have to wind these things, and how does the pendulum keep going?" She asked, taking another cog from the body of the clock. "In my time, we have these clocks, but only if you're rich. I have an annoying electric one that sounds like it needs a laxative."

"That's a good question about the why's and how's, but I would personally love to see this electric clock that you have, even if it does sound horrible."

Yet another screw came out and she scribbled on the piece of paper again. "I doubt you will ever get the chance, Raoul. I don't think we have a way to get back, so unless you live until," she paused for a moment as she thought of the year, "nineteen eighty seven, then you wont get to see one of these clocks of mine. Sorry." She said it with humor. What? You didn't think she was that much of a smart ass did you?

"Oh, and whenever you met us, you said that we had been in a 'movie' in your time. I feel like a clod asking, but what is a 'movie?'"

This caused Nicole to burst out into laughter. She had to remember though, that this was 1870 and movies weren't yet invented. After a moment or two she reclaimed her composure and responded, "It's um… it's like a moving picture. Actually, it's just several pictures taken one right after another, and then put together really quickly onto a huge screen so it just looks like its moving… that's all."

"Really? That simple?"

"Well no, far more complicated than that. That's just the basics that I know. Surely you will be able to live to see at least one of the earlier ones… perhaps one of those that tried to make people happy during the Great Depression."

"The Great Depression?"

"Eh, nothing. You'll get to know of it sooner or later. I don't want to spoil the future for you. Anyway," she sighed, pulling out a wheel of the clock, "How are you Monsieur de Chagny?"

"I'm great now that I know that you are well again," he said it with confidence while Nicole blushed intensely. Some one other than Danielle or Elsa was concerned about her condition. She wasn't used to the concern, at least not from a guy that just happened to be her alter-ego. "I'm sorry if I'm being awfully forward… it's just that…" He stopped mid-sentence, shaking his head, a little of the soft honey colored hair that had been neatly combed back into a ponytail at the nape of his neck came out of place.

"It's just that what?" She was anxious to hear the last part, assuming it would be something about him liking her. Besides, no one ever got away with half finished sentences around her. Elsa knew that.

Making a quick recovery, he said, "Oh, I enjoy our fencing practices, and I miss them. I want to be well again soon, though with you losing so much weight, I think I shall be afraid to break you."

This made a disappointing look in Nicole's eyes, but she kept a smile on her face. Her eyes were a very dark brown and held so much expression. You would be surprised at how good she could do a puppy face, which seemed to always succeed… except around Elsa… darn her. "Yeah," She replied to that, laughing a little. She had expected a nice sweet little gesture, but it was her fighting that was once again marveled.

"But I enjoy your company as well, and being around you is great," he was fumbling over his words like a school boy now, "You're a very attractive person and all too, well, its not like I've been thinking about you in a desirable way, desirable as in perverted… I'm just going to not talk now." He sat there with his face in his hands, trying to hide the red caused by embarrassment.

Nicole was sitting there, grinning ear to ear at the Vicomte. One of her hands rose to rest on his shoulder, just as she always did to people to 'comfort' them. He slowly took his hands away from his face to look at her hand before looking to her.

There was a long moment of silence between them before Nicole looked away and started ripping the clock apart again, starting up a brand new conversation about society in Paris at the time. Really, she was interested, and also she wanted to get away from the awkward silence that made her ever so paranoid.

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There you have it. Next chapter had Christine in it. Gaw you Chrissy lovers! Anyway, yes... review?


	11. VACATION! WOOT!

Okay... here... Christine is in this chapter! Yay? This chapter is really short, so I'm going to try and post 12 today too. Again, thank you all for the reviews!

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Danielle and Christine were sitting in Christine's dressing room, going through scales for Danielle. She was getting better with her voice, better than she was before, but Christine couldn't let her get too good, so she kept constant watch over regulating her voice. After all, the leading lady title of the Opera Populaire was hers anyway, and she didn't want that taken away from her.

However, when Christine would demonstrate for Danielle today, her voice would crack or squeal.

"Is something wrong?" Danielle would ask, puzzled at Christine actually singing like a turkey vulture this afternoon.

"What? I'm not thinking of them, no," she paused for a moment, realizing her mistake, "I'm just a little unfocused today. That's all."

"Well, what is making you so unfocused?"

"Nothing."

Alright… this convinced Danielle that something was wrong, so she got up and sat the Prima Donna on the fainting couch sternly. "What is wrong?"

Christine looked up at her. She didn't know what to say, no one had ever sat her down and talked about her problems with her before. What could she do? Lie whenever Danielle already knew that something was up? Or was she to tell the truth and let it all hang out like a flesh wound inflicted in battle? Either way, it was going to hurt.

"I'm just not ready to let them go yet."

"In order for me to help you, you have to tell me who 'they' are."

"Erik and Raoul. They've found others already… but I'm not ready to let them go yet."

'Oh no,' Danielle thought, 'my two best friends are interfering with Chrissy and her lovers. This can't be good.'

Christine sat there, looking down to her lap, twisting the skirts of her dress in her hands. She knew she had not chosen to be with neither Raoul nor Erik, but she still loved them both. She just couldn't have chosen. It was too confusing for her at that time. Now, a year and a half later, Raoul was falling in love with a woman who was not even slightly lady-like in the least. Erik was in love with a stubborn girl that could sing better than Christine ever could. And now Danielle was beginning to get more gifts and flowers than she was after each and every performance. Was she becoming jealous of the three women that have come from the future?

"I just don't know what to do about it, Danielle. What can I do? I can't control their feelings for one another. But I don't want them to love some one else. I don't know if I could cope with it."

Danielle let out a long sigh before sitting on the couch beside her, flipping her brown hair out of the way to talk. "Perhaps you need a vacation, a break, you know? Maybe you will find another lover that will help get your mind off of these things. Please do, I don't want a fight between you and my friends."

The truth was she wanted to see her friends be happy, with out interference. If Christine was there while her friends were flirting around with their lovers, she knew that happiness would not be the case, just anger and jealousy.

"You are a genius!" Christine exclaimed, jumping up to pack. "I'll go to Soho, and take a break from all of this. You can have my dressing room while I'm gone… oh, and take my place as the leading lady. I would trust the parts to no one but you."

"What? I can't take your place! You're Christine! THE Christine!" Danielle jumped up from her seat and tried to follow the diva out of the room, but the door was shut in her face. "Great! I'm stuck here… with the weight of leading roles on my shoulders!"

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Aww! Chrissy is jealous. And Danielle's a genius! Wow! Never saw that comming, eh? Just kidding Will-o. I love you! So... Christine is gone.. this could be getting better! Geh... I dont like stupid christine... She's so oblivious to EVERYTHING. Geez! Anyway.Hope you all liked! Review! I'll give you... some... mask shaped cookies? How's that? I'm gonna go and make some of those now... I am brilliant.

Your loving author,  
Raoul/Nicole/Fizz


	12. A Not So Desperate Visit

YAY! Two chapters in one day! I think Jack will be happy with this one! Its really long... but hey, it was worth it. But it took forever because I kept getting sidetracked. So far, I think this is my favorite chapter.It's nicely written. Have fun!

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Elsa smiled and took a sigh of relief once she heard that Christine was gone. She never liked that woman.

In the room she shared with Danny and Nicole before she got sick, she was pacing back and forth, thinking. Was she falling in love with Erik? Ha! Elsa, fall in love with some one? No, that wasn't possible. Elsa didn't fall in love. She was too level headed to get herself into things like that.

But Erik had saved her life, and Nicole's. He was so heroic, not to mention handsome as hell. What would she do? She liked him, yeah, no doubt about that, but what would Danielle think of her then? Danielle had strong feelings for the Phantom as well. However, she and the Phantom did not connect like he and Elsa did. They were similar in ways that Danielle or Nicole could never understand.

She took in a deep gasp of air as a black gloved hand covered her eyes. "Guess who," a deep voice softly whispered behind her.

"Erik," she said it in a frustrated voice. She despised when people were able to sneak up on her like that. He turned her loose and stood back. Elsa turned herself around to face him. "It's not fair that you are so stealthy."

He shrugged his shoulders and sat down on the edge of her bed. "You must be stealthy and silent if you are to live underneath the most popular place in Paris, or if you want to get to your box without anyone noticing."

"I understand, but why sneak up on me?"

He would have expressed something like 'Because you are cute when you are scared' but that wasn't very phantom-ish, now was it. "I really could not tell you."

She sat down beside him on her bed, looking over to him oddly. "Why are you in my room sitting on my bed?"

Indeed it was odd for Erik to just come into some place and make himself at home. Wait, this was his home. Technically, it was his room, and his bed. He owned everything in the opera house. In a reply, he grunted and said, "It's comfortable."

There was a moment of awkward silence between them. Elsa was imagining Danielle's expression if she were to walk in right now. She would squeal, and then tackle Erik and… do things to him, or faint, or blab on about how sexy he was. 'No, I did not just think about the phantom being sexy. I did. Damn it!' she thought to herself.

"So, why are you here again?" It's not like she wanted him out or anything, she was just wondering because he normally never came out of his underground home for anything, unless it was to save her best friend's life.

"I just wanted to come up to see how you and your friend were doing, and obviously you are both doing just fine. So I suppose I shall take my leave now. I will talk to you some other time then, Mademoiselle Elsa," he said as he rose from his seated position and went to the door. Wow… the phantom was using a door that was not a mirror or a trap door for once. Amazing.

"Wait," she rose from her position also and protested against his departure. He turned around to look at her, left eyebrow raised. "Why did you decide to come and save my friend? You weren't going to at first, but you came."

Erik was not sure how to answer this one. Was he to tell her that he loved her, and he only wanted to do it to keep from causing her pain? No, that may be a bit forward. "I know what it is like to have no one," he replied in a gentle tone, "and I didn't want you to be left with no one to listen to your problems and understand you. I know that you two love each other as sisters, and I didn't want to take that bond away from you. It is then that I would be the monster that everyone seems to think I am. I would be a monster if I had let her die after you pleaded to me to save her."

He let out a sigh after his reason then stepped forward to her, taking one of her hands in his. "I love you, Elsa. From the moment I heard you sing I've loved you. I believed that I would never love again after Christine left me. Then you came. Then you came and put a light into my world that I had never known. Even in the cold, dark and dank depths of my soul, there was a light. It just needed igniting. You gave life to that flame. I set out on watching and listening to everything you did. I wanted to come to you, to tell you, but I was afraid that you would deny me. And here I am now, doing just that, and waiting for a rejection. Elsa, I love you."

Elsa's face was blank for a long while, not knowing how to respond. Her hand was clasped in his, her tan skin contrasting very much against his pale skin, and her chocolate brown gaze was set into his eyes. He had told no lies in his spew of love. How could she reply to that? A simple 'I love you too, Erik' would not do. There had to be something deeper that she could say.

She took a deep breath before starting, "Erik, I understand you. We have so much in common it is hardly imaginable. I love you because I can relate to you. I know what it is like to be some where and have nothing and no one to talk to. I know what it is like to have so much pressure on you that you feel as if your lungs are collapsing under the weight of the world. I know how misunderstood a single human being can be by all the people in the world. Criticism is horrible, and yet we must cope with it. Whether you live your life in solitude or chose to be out in the open, you are always betrayed, always rejected. Even by your best friends some times. Being hurt is always an option, and it is normally the option that is chosen the most. I love you Erik. You could understand me more than any Nicole or Danielle could." She let out a sigh, glad that she got that out of her system.

It was the truth though. She had been so misunderstood. Things that came from her were always taken personally or twisted in some odd way that would always end up bad for her when she never really meant it that way.

A smile had crossed Erik's lips. His hand rose to slip a lock of the dark brown curls from Elsa's face, caressing her cheek as he went, each of his fingers touching so delicately against her skin. Those same digits moved under her chin, lifting it as he leaned down. Her lips met his in a soft and loving kiss. It wasn't too harsh, or too soft. Their lips met in absolute synch, conforming to one another as they kissed.

The kiss would last until breathing became a necessity and they broke away from each other, staring at one another. What had just happened? It would not be long before it registered in Elsa's head. What about Danielle? She had just kissed and admitted her love to her best friend's crush. What would she do if she ever found out? She slowly began to back away from him.

"Erik, I can't do th—"

She was cut off, for Erik had gone for another kiss, locking their lips until Elsa gently pushed at his shoulders, which is when he broke away from her again.

"I'm not sure if I can do this, Erik. I would be betraying some one whom I care about dearly."

He looked to the ground, disappointed. "So you have a lover then?"

This made Elsa laugh almost hysterically. "No! I don't have a boyfriend. Just a close friend that would not be happy with me if she found out about us."

"Then perhaps that friend doesn't need to know."

"But I can't. It would be like lying to her. I don't want to hurt her."

Of course Erik already knew that the friend was Danielle. He sighed and looked over Elsa with caring eyes before he turned to walk out the door. "I shall take my leave then."

Elsa stumbled forward to again protest against his exiting, but by the time she was even able to open her mouth, the door was shut, and she was left to stand there by herself.

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Aww! How cute! -grins- but where did that phantom go this time? Arg... silly phantom and his disappearing bit. Review!


	13. Swords Are Good At Hiding Themselves Oo

LazyCat, I started on this chapter just for you. You have inspired me to write a new chapter. And as for who Danielle is going to get with, I'm not sure. I've talked to the actual Danielle and asked her, but she said she didn't want a lover, but I will give her one anyway. Perhaps I will rip one of my friend's characters, eh? I think I shall ask him. Anywho, this is the next chapter. Chapter 13! Am I superstitious? Why yes I am! Enjoy!

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Almost a week later, Nicole was up on the stage, parrying with the Vicomte again. Now, she didn't even need to go through the steps in her head. She knew Raoul's movements now and could easily match him in any fight. Her strength was slowly coming back to her and her weight was coming back. She wasn't a frail and fragile figure like she had been when she was sick. All of this was thanks to the Opera Ghost, and if he would ever show himself to her, she would indeed thank him for what he had done.

Elsa and Danielle were sitting in the front row of seats in the theater, looking up at their two friends and whispering amongst each other. They were mostly making fun of them.

"Raoul's cheeks jiggle when it does the hopping thing to move in for a slash," Danielle giggled to her friend as they watched.

"Which Raoul? Junior or Official?" Elsa asked, chuckling a little.

"Both."

"Yeah, and they make funny grunts and yells. It's like they are… never mind."

"No bathroom jokes or sex jokes! That's absolutely disgusting! I don't want to think of Nicole and Raoul… like that. Ew!" Danielle shuddered at the thought.

Elsa rolled her eyes and looked over to her friend, "I wasn't trying to picture them that way. Though they would be cute together… even if he is a full foot taller. Yet, they remain just friends. Jeebus."

"Eventually, I'm going to force their faces together and make them kiss if they don't do it soon. Chrissy is gone, so we don't have anything to worry about. No one can be jealous. Honestly, who would even have enough guts to go after the Vicomte of Paris besides Nicole?"

"No one, that's why they would be so good together. I mean look at them. You can tell that they like each other. We both know that Nicole like Raoul, that's a no shit on our part. Look at the way he watches her when they fight though."

Raoul did keep a close watch on her, being extremely careful not to hit her in anyway that would hurt her, and a lot of times that was why he lost. The way he did look at her was not out of desire or lust, but a favorable liking and caring blue gaze that observed every move that she made.

She looked at him in the same way, but she had no lack of aggression when she fought with him, her arm swinging as hard as possible at him when they battled. They only fought with foils, so it's not like they were going to hurt him, so she held no great concern. Every once in a while, Raoul would walk away with quite a few bruises on him, only wishing that she would hit a little softer when she did.

After a few more moments of clashing, Raoul knocked the foil from Nicole's hand, sending it flying backstage through the curtain. "Wow… I never knew that foils could fly," Nicole said as she disappeared through the curtain.

Her dark brown eyes looked around for a moment or two until she shouted out, "I can't find it." Raoul quickly advanced through the curtain to help her look for it. The pair looked around before they found it under a table that was for the stage hands to break at. Nicole crawled under the table and came back a few moments later, flicking the sword up in the air, "I found it."

Raoul moved out of the way of the upcoming pointy object, stopping it with his hand before it came to his face. Nicole had accidentally done this, of course. She didn't want to harm him, but her clumsiness could easily hurt people at times.

He was now looking down into her eyes, seeming to get lost in them. His other hand wrapped around the foe blade and set it upon the table before coming to rest on Nicole's hip. Raoul's other hand came to her cheek, his slender thumb caressing gently as they stared into each other's eyes.

A nuzzle given to his warm hand from her cheek would give him the signal that she was comfortable at the moment, though a blush came to her cheeks as she closed her eyes for a moment. Her eyes immediately snapped open again at the feel of soft, thin lips against hers, but she only closed them again.

Unlike Erik and Elsa, Raoul and Nicole did not have anyone to worry about being jealous. Both of their heart rates rose to beat a tad faster as they both worked into the kiss. Nicole was standing on her tip toes; Raoul had a hand on the small of her back for any support if she needed it. The pale fingers of her right hand were entwined in his honey hair, twirling a strand or two around her finger. Her other hand was resting on his upper arm, squeezing gently, also for support, for her knees could get very weak at times.

"Umm… de Chagny…" Elsa cleared her throat as she spoke, looking at the couple in their lip lock. Danielle was behind her giggling.

Once they heard the voice, they immediately broke apart, and Raoul stepped back a good distance, straightening out his shirt to act as if he had done nothing, though he knew it was already too late to pretend.

Nicole looked over to her two companions, who were returning the look. "You got some 'splainin' to do," Danielle said comically.

"What? I got squished in between the table and Raoul," Nicole replied innocently, knowing that that certainly wouldn't be an effective cover.

"Uh huh, and that's why you were back here so long, because you got stuck?" Elsa looked at her friend mischievously. She knew what had been going on. Anyone who couldn't figure that out was a fool. It only brought back memories of the night not too long ago when she and Erik had exchanged a kiss. Her amusement almost instantly turned to guilt with Danielle standing right next to her.

By this time, both Raoul and Nicole's faces were blood red as they exchanged glances to each other. "Alright. Yes, we kissed. Is that honestly so bad? I think I've fallen in love with her, and I couldn't help holding it back any more. I've had to wait for so long now, and it was just the perfect moment for it."

Elsa shook her head, a confused look on her face, "No, it's not bad, why would it be bad?"

"Ah, yes. Must explain social etiquette. In this day and age, it is extremely rude for a young gentleman to just go and kiss a young lady. It's highly looked down upon, though I couldn't tell you why. I couldn't keep myself any longer."

"Ohhhhhhhhh," a unified sound of understanding came from the three girls.

All this time Nicole had been standing there, amazed at the fact that Raoul had admitted that he loved her to Danielle and Elsa. No guy had ever said such things. Not even her boyfriend back in 2005, which she had chosen to forget about. She was in absolute awe and stood like that for a few more minutes until she snapped out of it.

Raoul, feeling that he had just embarrassed himself beyond belief, chose to break the awkwardness. "So, now that I've made an absolute fool out of myself in front of you ladies, how about supper?" He began to walk towards the door, grabbing Nicole's hand on his way, which made her blush at the gesture.

Elsa sighed and rolled her eyes again, "Supper. Always supper. Is that you're solution to everything? You must be one hungry Vicomte."

"Well, I do get quite hungry throughout the day, and I don't eat much considering I'm here at the Opera House all the time now thanks to Nicole," he replied, looking back to Elsa as he walked, "I can't cook, much less boil water. I might set something on fire. So yes, I am a hungry Vicomte. Very hungry. But I also enjoy sitting around a table with you fine ladies and socializing."

Who knows how long Raoul kept talking? He always talked when he was nervous or embarrassed. He was glad that Elsa and Danielle had found them kissing because now he felt he could express his love openly.

Elsa only wished that she could do the same with Erik. She didn't want to hurt Danielle though. Besides, she and Erik were not officially a couple, were they? All they had done was kiss, but that's all that Raoul and Nicole had done also, but now their hands were clasped together and showing their care for one another. Could she and Erik be considered a pair at this point? He did disappear for days on end without notice. Would he turn out to be a horrible lover because of that? Oh, she was so confused!

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My longest chapter ever! Woot! I tried not to condense anymore than I could. Ha! Condensed… it's like soup! Hope you all liked yet another mushy kiss scene. Review please!

R.C.-Nicole-Fizz-


	14. Newspaper HeadlinesA Tad Tipsy?

C.Q.: Wonderful to hear of your incident. Lucky you. If I had been sitting beside a French guy who sorta resembled the Phantom, and had the same name, and just so happened to possibly be a rich scientist, I would…. Give him to Elsa. –grins innocently- But yes, very interesting, and you are very lucky. Perhaps Erik is immortal and lived out to stay in the Opera Garnier, and you just happened to be the person that half the people looking through Phantom Phics would loathe and be jealous of, eh? Who knows?

Oh and sank you Ridel! I heart the Vicomte… he's precious!

Ted: It's fiction… she can be confused.

Anywho… Chapter 14. YAY! Another chapter!

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Elsa slowly crept her way down into the lair, being careful not to set off another trap or whatever. When she got to the lake, opposite the underground home, she looked off into the distance.

"Erik? Erik?" she called into the dark for him. She waited a few moments before she called his name again, "Erik! Er—" She halted as soon as she saw the tip of the gondola coming round the bend in the lake's path.

"I'm here, Elsa, don't worry," he said as he pushed the boat ashore, offering a hand to help her in. Elsa, of course, gladly took the invitation, stepping into the boat and sitting down in the front. They were off again within a matter of seconds.

"I was afraid you were angry with me or something. I haven't seen you in a week. You aren't mad, are you?" She looked up to the tall, dark, and handsome man. Right now, she was damning Danielle in her mind for making her have hesitations about this guy.

Erik gave a gentle chuckle and looked down at her, "No, not mad. I'm not mad at all. I just needed to think things through… I was going to come up later on tonight when your friend Danielle was asleep, but now it seems that I won't have the need too since you are here."

'Damn the impatient me!' Elsa yelled at herself in her thoughts, smiling up to Erik. "Were you going to come and talk to me about something?"

"It depended."

"On what?"

"If you were asleep or not. If you had been, I would have just stood there, watching over you as you slept, and if you had been awake, I would have surely talked to you."

Elsa let a happy sigh escape from her lips. Again, she cursed Danielle for making her hold back from this oh-so-romantic guy.

"I'm sorry I can not be as open with you as Raoul and Nicole are—"

"You **already **know about them?"

"Yes, of course, I am the Opera Ghost. You didn't even know I was watching you from the catwalks, did you?" He chuckled, pushing the gondola through the arched tunnels. "I was also watching them fence. I find it interesting, the way that they fight. The Vicomte has some new energy to him when he fights against her. Anyway, I know, and tomorrow all of Paris will know more than likely."

"Ah, yes, the newspapers. Certainly they will know about their dinner date tonight. I can see the head lines now," Elsa said as she brought her hand up as to display the words in the air, "Vicomte finds new lover after Populaire Prima Donna rejection."

"Oh yes, the newspapers, lovely things aren't they?" He then pushed the boat up onto the shore of the… lair… getting out first and then offering a hand to her, which of course she took the gesture. "I do wish that we don't have to sneak around your friends' backs. I do love you. I meant what I said the other night."

"Well, I was planning on telling Nicole at some point… I just don't know how I would tell Danny, or if I would want to. I don't want to crush her, you know?"

He nodded to her and sat down at his piano, his fingers beginning to graze across the keys. "Music of the Night?"

Elsa's eyes widened at this one. Was Erik asking her to sing for him? 'Obviously, dumb ass! Go for it!' was what one little voice said on her right shoulder. 'Oh lordy, don't embarrass yourself Severijn,' was what the other voice was saying on her left. The middle was the one that counts though, right? "Alright…"

And so they sang… together… how sweet, eh?

Meanwhile, back in that quaint little restaurant where Raoul had first brought the girls, he and Nicole were conversing over a wonderful dinner. So far, even though they had been banned from the place, the cook hadn't said a word to them. Perhaps he realized that Raoul was indeed the Vicomte of Paris and that he could have him put out of business.

They had both been sipping on champagne and wine all night, and were getting a tad tipsy, if not drunk. Nicole was especially bad when it came to drinking. She learned that on Saint Patrick's Day 2004.

"Does it bother you when I defeat you when we fence?" Nicole asked Raoul, looking up from her plate of noodles to him. She was all dolled up in a lovely dress again, something that would rarely ever be seen on her, but she couldn't lie; she enjoyed putting on that stuff sometimes.

"What do you mean 'bother me?' I love fencing with you," Raoul replied after swallowing the food that he was once chewing in his mouth.

"You know… doesn't it, like, hurt your ego or something?"

"Oh, that. No, not at all. It's actually helped me realize that I can't be the best at everything."

"Good, I didn't want to be all dominant towards you or anything."

"Dominant? You?" he snickered as he took another bite of his _Duo de Magrets en Croûte de Sel _and muttered under his breath, but loud enough for her to hear, "Perhaps I would like that."

A warm blush came to Nicole's cheeks as she just stared at him, jaw dropped just a little. Had the Vicomte of Paris just gotten kinky with her? No, never. "Sorry, but I'd never be the dominant type," she replied, shaking her head and returning to her meal.

After a few moments of silence, and finishing his meal, he let his hand creep across the table to hers, taking it gently. "I hope you are having a wonderful time in Paris. Before you came, and after Christine… dumped me, as you would say… I just never enjoyed being here anymore. It was like I was sick of Paris or something," as he spoke, he could tell that Nicole was ready to hide her face at any possible time due to the blush. "I think… I know I'm in love with you. And I am desperately hoping that you will say yes to my next request." He smiled to her as he dug in his coat pocket for something.

'Okay… he's holding my left hand, he's digging in his pocket for something, which is more than likely a ring, and he just said he was in love with me and how I've made him so happy,' Nicole was talking to herself in her head as she watched the viscount's movements. 'He can not be proposing to me! Not yet! I'm not ready to be married yet!'

He then brought a long and slender box from his coat pocket. "Would you be willing to let me court you?" He popped open the box and inside was a beautiful silver and diamond bracelet. Nicole gave out a sigh of relief as she smiled and nodded, agreeing to his question.

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HA! You all thought I would be getting married to that guy? No, nineteen is a tad too young to be getting married, I think. So, what will happen now, eh? I still need a main conflict you guys… so please… keep suggestions up! 


	15. It's A Beautiful Mornin!

Still need a plot, guys! Come on! I know you all can do it! I love you guys! You can do it! Geez… we are on chapter 15 and still no main plot besides the romance… this could…………………………..oh…. I just got an idea! Anywhit, this chapter, me. Next chapter, Elsa.

Jack, I promise you I will let you plan the wedding.

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The next morning Nicole woke up with a shiver that was caused by the draft coming from the open doors that led to the balcony off of the young Vicomte's room. Her body was pressed close to Raoul's, conformed to the shape that he took. He was still asleep, his slightly tanned chest rising and falling with every soft breath that he made, the deep blue eyes hidden behind lightly shut lids.

Nicole immediately looked under the covers once she woke, not being able to remember what happened after dinner. She still had clothes on, and at this, she gave a sigh of relief. She knew that she could get a tad… touchy when she's had too much to drink. Last night, Raoul had apparently been the gentleman that he was brought up to be and only let them sleep in each other's arms.

Though Raoul had apparently taken his shirt off before they went to bed, for it was neatly folded across the oak arm of a chair with the white ruffles fluttering softly with the moving air around them. As Nicole looked under the covers, one of the thoughts that crossed her mind was definitely, 'Damn you have a nice body,' but of course she kept it to herself.

She was enjoying herself though, being curled up in a handsome man's arms as a few rays of morning sun light splayed out onto the burgundy colored carpet and covers from the open French door and windows. The sheer white drapes were blowing inwardly with the light spring breeze coming in from the east. Her chocolate brown eyes flicked from the curtains, to the rays of sunlight on the bed, to him.

Her eyes seemed to take in every inch of him; his chiseled jaw-line, his soft but thin lips, the straight profile line of his nose; it all just seemed perfect to her. A gentle smile crossed her own lips as she brought a hand up to gently caress his left cheek, her fingers running over the smooth skin a few moments before he stirred a bit and slowly forced his eyes to open.

"Good morning," Nicole greeted him, smiling to him as she continued with her caring touch.

Raoul gave a small groan and a grunt in reply to her, also a grin as his hand lifted to wipe the sleep from his eyes. He reached his arms out in a stretch and yawned once before resting his hand on top of hers delicately.

"Did you sleep well?" He asked her, looking into her eyes. She nodded in reply.

He adored her right now. She was absolutely beautiful to him right now, no matter if she was stiff and puffy eyed from having just recently roused from sleep. He didn't care weather or not her brown hair was messy and misplaced due to sleeping on the soft pillows. He didn't care about anything right now except what was happening with them. A sigh escaped his lips as he looked upon his new love. "What would you like for breakfast?"

"Mmm…" Nicole gave a quiet groan before snuggling into him, "We don't have to get out of the bed for breakfast, do we? Don't you have one of those little bells that you can ring for people to bring us breakfast?"

He laughed lightly at this and nodded, turning away from her for a moment and reaching his arm out to grab the little bronze bell that rested on the dark oak nightstand on his side of the bed, ringing it a few times before he returned it to its spot. "Why, yes I do happen to have one."

She grinned and hugged the comforters to her more as they waited for a maid or some one to come and get orders for their breakfast, and eventually, a servant did come. It seemed like moments later their food was brought to them, croissants and fluffy yellow eggs which only Raoul ate. Nicole had a horrible loathing for the taste of eggs and refused to eat them. The idea of eating something that came out of another animal's butt just did not appeal to her.

After they had eaten their morning meal, Raoul picked up the paper that had been brought up as well. Indeed there was a pleasant drawing of Raoul and Nicole at dinner the previous night, accompanied by the headline 'Vicomte and new lover?' He let out another sigh, this one more frustrated than the last.

She peaked over his shoulder as she stuffed the last of her croissant into her mouth, eyes scanning over the headlines. "Do you get that every time you go out with a new woman?"

"No… I rarely go to dinner with any women. I just don't see why they want to know every thing about my life."

"Simple. You're rich, you're young, you hold high political power in Paris. Easy target. We have the same problem with celebrities in my time. Except in my time, it would be 'Chagny caught having sex in a posh bar with random girl.' As you can see, highly exaggerated," she replied with a smirk as she took the paper from his hands and tossed it on the foot of the bed.

"Yes… I can see that they are extremely blown up. I would never… do that with you in a public place. Never. So, people in your time are so boring that they need lies to make them interesting?" He asked as his eyes watched the roll of paper fly to the end of his bed.

"Yeah, surprisingly. We must know who is dating who and what brand of thong Julia Roberts is wearing. It's a never ending line of bull shit that has taken over the world and wrapped every one of us in. It's quite sad."

"Half of the words you used in those sentences I didn't understand a bit, but maybe I will understand in time, no?" He smiled and took her in his arms again. "Those papers can never get to me now, as long as I know it's not true, it doesn't matter, right?"

"Exactly!"

He grinned once again and drew her to him, bringing her into a deep and loving kiss. After breakfast, anything can happen, right?

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This chapter took me forever for some reason.. but I like it. YAY! Review please! 


	16. Shhh! She's sleeping!

Ah… chapter 16. Loverly. I believe I have a plot… part of a plot anyway… this story is gonna be like 42 chapters long if I stick with that idea though, so keep your ideas coming! I may use the ideas that I don't use from you all for this story for the sequel! You never know!

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Danielle woke up the next morning, rubbing her eyes and looking around the room before she shot out of bed. She frantically looked around the room and jumped to each of the beds, searching through the covers.

"Okay… they are just having breakfast on the patio…" She looked to the clock as she attempted to reassure herself, "At seven thirty in the morning."

Danielle was failing miserably at finding answers that would calm her. They never woke up that early, and neither did she unless something was wrong. She raced through the rooms of the opera house, asking questions and trying to figure out where her friends had gone. She was forced to stop though when Madame Giry dragged her off for rehearsals. "Damn the two of them… damn them."

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A movement from the warm body beside him stirred Erik to waking. His eyes snapped open the moment the movement was felt. There was Elsa, body conformed to bend with his, sleeping peacefully. The velvety red sheets were twisted round her form in the most perfect way. A warm and gentle smile crossed his lips as he layed his head against the pillow again.

But wait! He felt the smooth black silk against the right side of his face. The mask that had once covered the twisted flesh had been removed. Elsa? No… she wouldn't have done it. The mask was laying slightly off the pillow. It must have fallen off in his sleep. His fingers delicately picked up the leather and once again smoothed it over his face. He didn't want her to have to see that. It might scare her away.

Erik definitely didn't want to frighten Elsa to leave. It was so foreign to him, having a woman laying beside him so close. His mind didn't know what to think exactly. They had slept in each others arms all night, and morning as far as that goes, and she hadn't left him.

A twinge in his heart told him that she was better than any Christine, and that there were more warm and fuzzy feelings inside for her. Erik, having those funny feelings for some one? Was it possible? Right now, with her chocolate brown curls falling across her tan face, she was making him believe that it was.

His hand went to touch her cheek, but hesitated. This whole thing was sort of awkward for him, even if they had kissed a week earlier and he had done those things then, but that was in a moment that he had been completely caught up in. Finally his fingers gingerly rested on her cheek, gently caressing the soft skin underneath it.

The touch, no matter how soft it was, still moved her to waking. Her eyes opened and looked up to him. At his sight, she smiled, beaming with delight even though she had just woken up. Perhaps I will explain later how much energy Elsa can have in the mornings. Anyway.

It was completely silent where they were. If she had woken in the room with Danny and Nicole, silence would have been impossible. There was only the sound of melted candle wax dripping into a puddle on the cold stone floor. Erik's home was peaceful, probably because no one knew how to get down to bother anything.

Some would have called it a cave, catacombs, basement, tomb, dungeon, etc, but she could classify it as a home. He had lived there most of his life, hadn't he? Even if it was cold, dark, and dank, Erik had made it his very own. He had placed several of his works of art around and had spent good money on the furnishings. 'Now all he needs is a mini refrigerator and a microwave and we're set!' Elsa thought to herself.

"I… I didn't mean to wake you, Elsa. I was just—"

"Erik, it's fine. I was bound to wake up sometime anyway. It's very nice down here in the mornings," Her lips had a smile yet again as she spoke.

"Actually, its two o'clock in the afternoon."

Elsa's eyes widened at the time. "What?" She immediately jumped up out of the bed and looked around, checking if she brought anything with her.

"What's the problem?" Erik asked as he climbed out of the bed himself.

"Will is going to kill me!"

"Will?"

"Danielle. The nickname will take some time to explain. I'll tell you later. But for now I've got to go. Crap! Nicole is going to kill me too!" Seeing that she had forgotten nothing, she began to rush out.

"Well, let me take you in the gondola."

"No, I know the way, I'll come back later, unless I'm noosed by the two crazies." What? Elsa refusing a ride in the boat? Wow, that rarely would happen.

He smirked to himself as he watched her run down the walkways along the lake. She did run all of the way, and by the time she had gotten to the mirror door, her knees were killing her. Damn the Osgood-Schlatter disease!

Once she was in what was now Danielles dressing room, she shut the door behind her and stopped to rest on the fainting couch. She had been sitting there for maybe two minutes before the door opened. Danielle and Nicole entered the room.

"What were you doing all morning, having a smoochfest with Raoul or something?" Danielle was currently scolding Nicole for being gone as well. She looked over to the couch and seemed surprised to see Elsa sitting there. "And where were you, missy?"

"Finally, some one else you can yell at," Nicole grumbled under her breath.

Elsa sighed, trying to think quick about her answer. What could she say? "Umm… I went out to get the paper this morning for Firmin, and, well, I forgot the money, you see, so I had to sing for a few hours to get the money up for the paper and a croissant."

"A croissant?" Danielle asked.

"Yeah, I was hungry."

"If you went and got the paper, what was on the front page this morning?" Nicole asked her friend suspiciously. There was something to that story that just didn't seem right, so of course she had to ask questions.

"You and Raoul on your dinner date last night. How did that go anyway?" Damn, she was good.

"Wonderful… I think."

"You think?"

"Well, I got a little… umm… drunk… and I can't remember much. But I did wake up with him this morning. Don't worry! My clothes, and his clothes were still on! Well, excluding his shirt, but—"

"Okay! That's enough!" Elsa chuckled. "That croissant wasn't enough to fill me up, how about we go and get breakfast, eh?"

* * *

Okay, sorry, this one took WAY longer than expected. We had finals this week at school and my stress level has been at like 100. All good now though. Hope you all liked! Review!


	17. Fayt or Destiny?

Ridel- I know you would never flame my story! Actually, this story is just now getting started because I just now got a plot, and I can't tell you, that would ruin it all!

Sirrius's Sister- Thanks for the appreciation! I really enjoy it. And don't worry, I'll always update until this thing is done. I despise cliffhangers, so I would never even dream of doing one. Arg! I hate the unfinished stories! I just get caught up in other things some times and I fail to write. But don't you worry, I have a friend who is bound to kill me if I stop. We sort of take turns updating, and I don't get to see her next chapter until I post one, so yes. Must keep going.

Well, here's another chapter everyone! Have fun!

* * *

Their breakfast, or shall I say lunch considering that it was 3 o'clock in the afternoon by the time they got to the precious little bistro, was fun and interesting. There were no food fights this time and they had a civil and slightly mature conversation for once. Yeah, sure there were some rather lovely perverted inside jokes that always seemed to occur when eating, but by now, with four years of friendship down pat, they were all used to it.

When they finally returned to the opera house, Danielle was yet again dragged out to rehearse for yet another performance that was due in less than a month. Raoul arrived not long after, so Elsa and Nicole retired back towards the stables to fence with him, as they always seemed to do.

Auditions for a new leading male had been sorted through and determined. The new protagonist would be a young man named Fayt Moreaux. It was a typical rags to riches story. He grew up with his mother, never knowing a thing about his father. When he was five years old, he came home to his mother lying dead in the floor and taken advantage of by large, burly men, who put a large cut across the left side of his chest when he came through the door.

Luckily, an older man named Ronald came to see what was wrong from the screams and cries that he had heard. The men were gone and all he found was Fayt, lying in the floor and nearly bled to death. Ever since then, Ronald took the boy in and taught him everything he knew, which was mostly stage work. They had helped with the set of Don Juan in the _Opera Populaire. _

It was not too long afterwards that Fayt discovered his singing talent when he was at a small party in the slums. An entertainment hour of sorts. Ronald and his wife saved up as much money as they could to buy him a nice looking outfit for Fayt to go and audition for in the opera house, bless their souls.

He had sung his heart out that previous week and now here he was, a part of the _Opera Populaire_. For him, this was amazing. He had never been inside the place, so his honey brown eyes were wide and observant of the beautiful décor and general structure. A gloved hand lifted to wipe some of the semi-short brown hair from his face so that he could better see the splendor of this place.

For a moment, his eyes caught hold of some thing else. Danielle had come off the stage to wipe the sweat from her brow with the damp rag that was always at the small water basin off stage to help with hygiene and the actors who would pass out due to the summer heat and gas lights of the theater.

His heart must have skipped a few beats, for now he was holding his chest, gazing upon this beauty in all her radiance. He couldn't draw himself away from the curly brown locks, the fair skin, the blue eyes. Oh! She was so gorgeous! His jaw had dropped just slightly, and Ronald, who had been standing beside him the whole time, pushed the boys chin back up, "Don't get yourself into anything you can't do, Fayt."

He glared at his father-figure for a moment before speaking, "Why not? I got here, didn't I? Would it be so horrible for me to go after the woman I'm going to be kissing in the next show anyway?"

"I don't want you to get hurt. She's young, she's beautiful, she's probably engaged—"

"Point taken, Ronald… Perhaps she isn't though?" He watched her walk back on stage. "Or perhaps I'm just too optimistic and bound to get myself disappointed…"

"Oh, don't think about it that way, boy. Come now, let's go put your things away."

They made their way into the long hallway down to Fayt's room, but it would not be long until Fayt was back behind stage again, waiting for the lovely beauty to finish with her arias. Once she was back, he instantly took the opportunity to run up to her.

"Bonjour, mademoiselle. My name is Fayt Moreaux, and I'm the new male protagonist at the _Populaire_," he introduced himself with a broad and beaming smile, offering his hand to her.

"Danielle Dodson. It's a pleasure to meet you Monsieur Moreaux," she replied, taking his hand as it was offered and instantly blushed as he kissed the back of her hand. He was such a gentleman, even though he had certainly never grown up in the aristocratic lifestyle. Handsome, kind, caring, suave... maybe he was everything our dear Danny ever wanted? But she had just met him; no quick decisions just yet!

It had been an hour or two since Raoul, Nicole, and Elsa had been outside, and also it was beginning to storm outside, so, like the smart people they were, they came inside. It would not be good to be standing outside in the thunder, rain, and lightning, holding a very long, pointy, shiny, metal thing. And that long, pointy, shiny, metal thing would be a rapier.

Upon seeing their friend being flirted up by a devilishly handsome young man who just happened to be the new leading man, they immediately raced to hide behind one of the many curtains, laughing, giggling, and cursing at each other for stepping on one another's toes. They were all peaking through a break in the curtain, Elsa's head on the bottom, Nicole's head next, and Raoul's on top. Aren't they just so precious?

"So," Fayt blushed as his voice cracked. Even though he was 18 and past puberty, his voice still cracked when he was nervous, and speaking to an astounding young lady would certainly make him nervous. He cleared his throat and moved on. "Would you like to join me for dinner tomorrow night?"

Ronald, having been eaves dropping on this entire conversation sighed, grumbled something under his breath, and smacked his forehead while he moved away from the scene.

"I would love to. Thank you. What time should I be ready and where will we meet?" Danielle replied to him, a bright flush to her cheeks and now grinning with delight.

"Six o'clock at the front steps of the opera house?"

"I assure you I will be there. But for now—"

She was interrupted by the trio hiding in the curtains falling on top of each other and into plain sight. The cause of the fumble was Raoul. He had decided to do one of those absolutely sickening couple things and began tickling Nicole. For payback, she stomped his toe, which made him yelp. The yelp forced Elsa into a hilarious laugh, which she was now continuing to do as she lay on the floor. Nicole had tripped over Elsa, and from seeing his lover fall face first on the floor, he went to help her up, but due to laughing so hard, when he crouched to pick her up, he fell over himself.

Now they were just a large squirming and laughing mass in the middle of the floor.

"Oh! Me leg! Me leg!" Elsa yelled through laughs. "Nicole! Get off my leg!"

"I can't! Not until Raoul gets his elbow out of my ass!"

"And I can't move an inch until you get off of Elsa so that she can move her foot away from my… my personals!" Raoul had a very horror stricken and nervous look on his face, though he was still letting out laughs here and there.

"DANNY! HELP!" Both Elsa and Nicole screamed in unison. Danielle was now on the floor as well in a fit of laughter crawling over to her friends. She had never had to take apart a puzzle of people.

Fayt had plopped back into a chair that was strictly used for a prop and not meant to be sat in, so the moment he put his weight in it, it broke bringing him to the floor with the others, only to hold his sides from laughing so hard.

The sight of this made everyone burst out into a harder fit of laughter. "No! No more funny stuff! I must void my bladder and if I laugh anymore, I'm afraid my trousers, as well as Elsa's leg is going to be wet!" Nicole practically belted it out, which only made it worse. "No! Stop! I've got to pee! DAMN YOU ALL!"

* * *

Okay… my new favorite chapter! Huzzah! Some predicament, huh? Raoul's got a crotch problem with Elsa's foot, I've got to pee and that automatically makes a problem for Elsa considering I'm sitting on her leg, and everyone else is just DYING of laughter! How fun is that! Woot! New character! Thanks to my RP buddy for that one! I heart you! 


	18. Huzzah For Picnics!

LazyCat- Pray tell what you are confused about! Fayt was a character that I needed to balance things out between the girls. Protagonist is the leading actor in a literary work/play/opera. Since Piangi died in the movie and it is now around two years later, and I hadn't mentioned another male lead, so I decided that it was time for one. As for the Elsa and Danielle fighting over Erik and Fayt, no. 1) they would never do that and 2) it seems like that idea is in many of these stories, and I despise repetition. Thanks for the suggestion though!

"Fayt" is pronounced the same way as "fate" as far as I know. I got that character from a friend that I role play with all the time. He chooses very interesting names for his characters, doesn't he? All the same, I like his characters, they are nice and enjoyable and never arrogant egotistical asses.

On to the chapter!

* * *

Raoul had come to the_ Populaire _by foot with a basket in his hands around eleven the next morning after the human puzzle incident. Upon seeing the basket, Nicole laughed lightly and shook her head, "You aren't bringing me a baby, are you?"

"No, no, no," he said as he grinned, running up the stairs to greet her, pulling her into a soft kiss. "It's a lovely day, and I thought you might like to go on a picnic or something."

"A picnic? I'd love to!" Nicole was excited about this. She absolutely loved picnics. He must be the man of her dreams! She had never dated any one who planned outings that she loved to do. It was always to an inside place, which just got boring.

"You look absolutely ravishing!" Raoul exclaimed, having now noticed the sundress Nicole was wearing. Wait. Nicole. In. A. Dress. Willingly? Oy vey, she's changed! It was a pretty little dress though. It was a light, mint green with a few ruffles here and there and the straps rested right on the spot where the joint of her arm and shoulder met. Oh, and lace! LACE! Nicole is wearing lace now? And light colors? What has the Vicomte done to our precious little non-frilly Nicole?

She blushed and moved some of the reddish brown hair from her face, replying with gratitude, "Thank you very much Monsieur de Chagny."

Raoul wrapped an arm around her waist and led her towards Le Parc Monceau. It was a lovely little walk there. Nice and serene even though the streets were extremely busy. They strolled together, holding hands, neither having a care in the world about what the gossip would be on the morrow. Once they arrived at the park, there was a nice half hour walk from the entrance to the main pond, which had a row of Roman columns on one third of the shore, a patch of breezy angel-oak willow trees at another portion, and a clearing leading off of the walking paths at the other part.

Raoul spread the thin blanket at a nice little spot they found underneath the willows and seated himself and began to lay out the food. There were croissants (as usual), sandwiches (as for what kind, I don't think anyone knew), fresh fruits and vegetables and champagne, of course. It was only the best that you could ever get in Paris, and Raoul would have it no less for Nicole, even though she didn't even care about the quality of the food. Being able to share it with him was enough to make it great.

After hours of joking around and trying to toss pieces of croissant in each other's mouth, it was time to relax and sip the champagne. Raoul was sitting against the trunk of a tree, one leg extended out onto the blanket while the other knee was bent and pulled near to his chest. Nicole was resting against him, her lower back against the leg which was straight out and her upper back propped up against his other leg. His right arm was draped across her stomach, and his left was holding his glass. Her left hand was placed on his right forearm and her right hand was holding her own champagne flute.

She let out an almost exasperated sigh. "What's wrong?" Raoul would ask her.

"It's just Elsa… she was gone all night the other night and didn't get back until after I did yesterday afternoon. We asked where she had gone, and she made up some lame excuse about going and getting the paper and not having the money and having to sing for so long to get the money up. It was totally unbelievable! I don't understand what she could have been doing all night and half the day. It's so unlike her to just disappear and then lie about it." Nicole could hear Elsa in her head right now saying _"Pirate!"_

"Maybe she's just homesick? You all have been here for almost a year now. I'm sure she misses the things you have back there."

"No… if it was that she missed it, she would have told me."

"Let's not think about it for now. You can always confront her about it later." Raoul offered a smiled to her as his fingers traced over her collarbone. She shivered at the feel of his fingertips on her skin and on that particular place of her body.

"Raoul, please don't touch me there… you have no idea what that does to me," she half whimpered out.

"Then pray tell what it does to you, _mon cher," _he replied as he bent down and kissed another spot on her collar bone. Nicole instantly turned to butter in his arms, completely submissive to him now. She would have killed him for doing that, and oh how she wanted to! But she couldn't, not with the way his warm lips on her skin made her feel.

She let out the cutest little groan. "It does that to me, now stop."

"It's too fun." A wide grin crossed his lips as he shook his head. He shifted around some how to where she was now laying on the ground, and he was propped on an elbow beside her, his left hand resting on her hip as he tortured her further with the contact with her collar bone.

* * *

Back at the opera house, it was already fifteen minutes till six o'clock and Elsa was helping Danielle prepare for her date. Elsa had helped Danny decide on a lovely cobalt blue dress, with guess what- a corset. Go figure.

"So, you think you like this guy?" Elsa asked. She really hoped she did. Then she might be able to let up on this guilt about her sneaking around with Erik.

"Umm… sure? Do you really think he'll like this?" Danielle asked walking out from behind the dressing screen. She was nervous. It was the first time she had been out on a real date with a guy who was actually planning on courting her than dating. Courting was good.

"Yes, he'll love you in it." Elsa smiled at her friend. She was so cute when she was nervous! "But do you like this guy?"

"Well, yeah… I mean, he's handsome, he's nice, and he has a sense of humor. He asked me out. He's just very intriguing to me. Besides, I'll be working with him in the future. I might as well go ahead and get to know him." Her shoulders rose and fell in a shrug as she moved out of the room, Elsa following her.

They walked through the opera house in almost absolute silence with small conversation here and there.

"Are you sure he's going to like this?" Danielle asked again as they entered the main hallway again. She was always self conscious about things.

"Yes! He'll think you're a goddess in that thing. Geez, Will!"

"I'd think she was a goddess even if she was in a pair of old trousers and a blouse," a smooth voice said from the doorway. It was Fayt, of course. He was dressed up as well. Well, dressed up meaning he was in a pair of nice and clean pants and dress shirt.

Elsa looked down to her attire, which was indeed old trousers and a blouse. 'What's wrong with them?' she asked herself in her head.

"Shall we go then, Mademoiselle Dodson?" He smiled brightly as Danielle took his arm and they began their walk to their destination.


	19. Fayt's home, a clumsy Vicomte, and smooc...

Sorry you guys for not updating in so long. There's a VERY long story to go with it. Heh heh heh. But I'm back. Wooooooot! On to ze chapta! …. I've started to talk like Erik/Elsa. Oy. … there it is again.

By the way, I just want to make a note of this, so that you guys will understand. Erik is not my main character, and therefore he is not the main focus of the story. Mainly Nicole and Elsa are the main characters. I don't want anyone giving me that "Oh, another Mary-Sue story sigh" crap. It gets to me. But no, Erik is not my lead character. He is mainly a sub character to add to the plot. The story is about the three girls struggling with the decision to try and find a way back home or not, and then the readers deciding if their decisions are altered by the love stories of Elsa/Erik, Raoul/Nicole, and Fayt/Danielle.

Alright… I'm stopping there. Next chapter. And it took me a looooooong time I know, but its a long chapter.

* * *

Danielle snickered at the small children they saw chasing a chicken through the streets of the slums. Fayt didn't have much money to take her anywhere, so this is all he could do with her for now. To him, this place was home; the broken cobblestones, the run-down (seemingly medieval) buildings, the smell of the muddy pigpens. Some of those aspects weren't so pleasant, but it was what he had grown up around. Now he only hoped that Ronald's wife, Shella, was fixing something good for dinner. What? He may be the new male lead at the _Populaire_, but going back for some of the food that she cooked would be a habit that would never leave him.

He lightly knocked on the heavy wooden door before he opened it, sticking his head in and looking around the lantern lit room, "Ronald! Shella! I've come back and I've brought a friend."

Shella came out from another room, Ronald following her. Her hair was long and grey, put back into a tight bun to keep it out of the way for her work. Lines in the corner of her eyes indicated that she had laughed for many years, and that she was aging. Ronald was the same way; happy, jolly, and growing old.

"Oh! Fayt! Come in, dear, please!" Shella exclaimed at the sight and sound of the boy she had raised into this fine young man. Once he had entered, she gave him a firm hug, as well as one to Danny before she stood back and looked the youthful woman over. "My, my, my! Fayt, you've brought home a lovely lady. How'd you get this lucky?"

She was teasing him, of course. Danielle was profusely blushing at the compliment she had just received. It being his home, she was still very shy and decided to stay back and silent unless she was spoken to.

"Shella, Ronald, I'd like for you to meet Danielle. Well, Ronald, you know this, but she's the new Prima Donna at the Opera Populaire. I had the privilege of her joining me for tonight," Fayt smiled over to his date as he said this.

After the introductions were made, Danielle finally had the chance to take in her surroundings. It wasn't much, but for Ronald and Shella, it was a home. It had the old, cold stone floors, blatant wooden walls, and the old oil and candle lighting instead of the new gas lights. To her, this was like being in a third-world-country. Everything was bare, hand made by Ronald's own two calloused hands. Fayt had even helped make some of it when he was younger. A rather new pot-belly wood stove was sitting not too far from the living area, which Fayt had bought with his first purse of pay that he had gotten from the Populaire. The smell of greens and pork filled the dense air.

Fayt pulled out a chair, which was the best one in the house though it still had the rough rickety structure. Danielle, taking the hint, sat down in it, straightening her cobalt blue dress. On to ze feast!

* * *

Meanwhile, back at the opera house:

Raoul walked through the doors with Nicole, hand in hand, giggling and carrying on about the highlights of the picnic. Today, of all days, felt right to Nicole. There had been no carriages, no servants following her and Raoul around. They had had a day of peace and quiet out in Parc Monceau.

Now, however, it was time for them to part. A sweet and gentle kiss was exchanged by the two at the bottom of the staircase before Raoul would hesitantly move away, his hand regretfully letting go of hers. Not wanting to take his eyes off of her for a moment as she walked up the stairs, he walked backwards towards the doors, taking each careless step with her own.

BUMP! KNOCK! GAH! TIP! BOOM! CRASH! SHATTER!…………… THUD! SMACK! GROAN!-

Nicole's head whipped around at the sounds, eyes wide as she looked upon the sight. There was Raoul, sitting on the floor, staring down at the pile of dirt and pink carnations in his lap. Pink, of all colors. Then again, it did match the marble. _Apparently_, the smitten Vicomte had knocked over a beautiful Victorian vase and broke it, sending dirt, flowers, and painted gold ceramic all over the place. At least he had enough money to pay for the damages, right?

By this time, the girl was holding onto the banister, seemingly for dear life, as her hysterical laughter echoed through the halls. Oh! The spleen! It hurt so much from laughing! Well, at least the muscles around it did. The sight of her lover, the oh-so-not-clumsy Raoul de Chagny, sitting in the floor with a pout on his face as he looked to the carnations on his lap was one that could never be beaten. It was too funny.

Once she had regained her composure, Nicole made her way down the steps until Raoul held up a hand to her. "No, go on up to bed. I'll take care of it."

He stood up, the dirt and flowers falling away from him with a rustle, then knelt back down to clean up his mess. Nicole continued on her way to the room that the trio had for themselves in another outburst of laughter, which continued until Elsa took her friend by the shoulders and shook her vigorously, shouting, "For the love of rum! Get a hold on yourself!"

A good fifteen minutes later, which had been spent explaining the previous event through laughs, giggles, and highly unnecessary squeaks, Nicole had finally gotten back to her normal state, that is, after attempting the 'breathe like you are in labor' method a few times. They didn't turn in until Nicole described every little detail about her date to Elsa, and then it was her turn to ask the questions.

"Umm… Elsa?" Nicole feebly asked from the bed adjacent to the one being questioned.

"Yes?" The soon to be 'grilled' one answered.

"Well, I was wondering…" Hesitation from the interrogator.

"Errg… what is it? I'd like to go to bed some time before the _Titanic_ sinks."

Nicole stifled a giggle at her friends 'predicting' of the future. Alright, time to get serious. "What have you been doing lately?"

"What do you mean?"

"Where have you been disappearing off to? Like the other night when you worried Danielle to death. You didn't come back until after I did, and that was around two in the afternoon. You left before I did and came back after me. That was an awfully long time to get the paper. Where in the world--" She paused. "I feel like I'm going to break out into song with Meg's part of 'Angel of Music.'"

Uh oh. Nicole knew something was up. She had to. She wasn't _that _dumb. Elsa thought hard for a moment to think of an excuse.

"No diversions this time, Missy," Nicole narrowed her eyes playfully as she said this.

"Hey, that's Mister to you!"

A sigh from Nicole gave the signal that the comment made by Elsa was the last huzzah for the night. "Elsa, I know you are seeing Erik. It's not that hard to figure out. You're a good liar—or should I say actor?—but you aren't so good that I can't tell that something is going on. I know you all too well."

"I know, I'm sorry I didn't tell you," there was an air of guilt in her voice.

"AHA! So it _is_ true!" Nicole's body popped up in the bed so that she could point a finger at her friend and give a rather maniacal laugh.

"Damn it! I fell for it! I can't believe it. Darn you! Darn you all to _heck!_" She was shocked that she had fallen for it. It had been a trick that was used in almost every single movie she had seen, and yet, Nicole managed to still get her with it. Well, now she knew. Big woop. Her attempts at secrecy had failed, and she was defeated by a fop.

"It's okay… if I wasn't so lazy, I'd be over there patting you on the shoulder right now. Seeing as I am so lazy though, I'm just going to sit here, a _safe_ distance away."

"I hate you, Vicomtesse."

"Hey, hey, hey! I'm not a vicomtesse," she looked down to the sheets, "Not yet anyway."

"What! He didn't propose did he!"

"No, fool! But I'm in love, I really think I am. He's just so… he's everything I've wanted. Forget about Lennon… he's back there… I don't want to go back to him. He's boring, and a pansy."

"I'm glad you have some one. Now that you and Danny both have boyfriends, I don't feel so alone and guilty. Well… Danny and that one guy aren't officially together, thank God. He insulted my clothes!"

There was a moment of silence between the two as they stared at each other in the dim, pale moonlight coming in from the single window they had in the room.

"So," Nicole broke it finally, "is Erik a good smoocher?"

Pillow thrown to head- "ACK!"

* * *

Another note so no one will get confused:

The "Her attempts at secrecy had failed, and she was defeated by a fop." might have been like, wtf? to some of you all. I dont know if I explained it or not, but me and my friends have aliases from the movie, and my alias is Raoul, and they call me Raoul. Constantly. And Fop. So yes. Raoul is a fop, so therefore Nicole (I) am a fop. Cleared up? Good. Now review... you know you want to.

Nicole


	20. Ruined Fun

I'm glad those of you all who read Capn' Jack's stories liked them. I know a few people gave her some SERIOUS bashing on them, but I yelled at them and backed her up because, like I said before, I love her stories. They keep my interest.

Oh, and I was reading my reviews over again last night and I just want to thank you all who have been reading my story and encouraging me to go on with it. Elsa especially. I was going to stop with this story, I lost my interest in it, but she told me not to give up. Really you guys, I do appreciate it. A lot.

There is Erik this chapter! Yay!

Alright, next chapter.

* * *

The next morning, Elsa and Nicole were walking around the opera house, chatting each other up about their beaus as they stared at the many paintings, statues, and architectural points in the grandeur of it all.

Erik was truly a genius. The beauty of the place was beyond immense, with its pink swirled marble floors and stairs to the golden clad figures of stone women, and to the most beautiful part of all, the ceiling of the auditorium itself. Painted with a scenery of a heavenly blue sky with cherubs with gleeful and adoring eyes adorning the edges of gold filigree, it was much like the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Erik was indeed a nineteenth century Michael Angelo.

Angelo should have been his last name, it would have suited nicely with the Angel of Music theme. He _was_ an angel. He was _her_ angel, Elsa's angel. She felt so relieved that some one finally knew about her and him. It was tormenting her for so long to be in a relationship so great, and yet she wasn't able to scream it out at the top of her lungs to the entire world and declare her love for him.

He could not do that either. The feeling was wrenching in their stomachs to be let out. Elsa was now relieved of it by confiding in one of her best friends about it; Erik, however, had no friends to tell, he had no friends to confide in and tell about this wonderful young woman that he had met nearly a year ago when she made a splash in his lake. Thank goodness they had invented bras by their time, or else that splash in the lake would have made a few things more visible on Nicole and Elsa considering the white shirts they had been wearing.

Last night he had been in the passageway that led right next to their room, listening intently through the walls as they gossiped about him and Raoul. Silly eavesdropping Phantom. A smile had crossed his lips as his ear was pressed to the wall, and the smile remained there for the rest of the night. Some one knew about them. He was happy for that. It gave some relief to him.

Now he was pacing the walkways in his lair, thinking intently while his feet made soft sounds as the dress shoes met the hard, cold stone. The footsteps, though gentle, sounded more like stomping to him with the silence in the catacombs. He was alone down here, and that is why he had become so silent and sneaky. If he hadn't have made himself do stealthy, he would have gone mad with the faintest noises that boomed off the walls of the underground home.

But now he was going insane for a different reason. He hadn't seen her all night, nor all day. He wanted her to be there so that he could hold her again, so that they could sing together again. Okay, so he wasn't going insane, but like Raoul, he was smitten, and becoming a wee bit obsessive.

Erik wanted to see her, but not being able to go up there and see her himself was horrible! Wait! That was it! He'd just go up there and see her! What was stopping him? Nothing! After all, it was his opera house; his own blood went into the papers of this place. He had worked feverishly over it for several years, fingers and palms sometimes coming to from drawing and scribbling plans so much.

No one could stop him from going up and walking about his own opera house, his own home! Besides, everyone with the exception of Nicole and Elsa were in rehearsals. The next play, _Faust_, had quite a large cast in it, so literally _everyone_ was rehersing. There was no sword fighting in this one, so Nicole had sat out on this production, and Elsa, well, she wasn't much for acting even though everyone knew she was great. Danielle, however, was playing the lead, Magarita.

Erik gathered up his infamous cloak, placing it about his shoulders before remembering that it was indeed near summer and that it would certainly be hot in the opera house. Placing it on the back of a chair he started off, but hesitated and turned to the bouquet of roses sitting on his organ. He plucked one from the batch and started up to find his love.

* * *

Elsa and Nicole had run into Meg, who was obviously skipping practice. Bad Meg! She haughtily walked up to the girls, looking as if she was in an ill mood. Seeing Meg coming towards them, Elsa nudged Nicole, who was currently off in la la land while staring at a fountain, and whispered to her friend, "Uh oh, some one is having their time of the month…"

"You two, Nicole and Elsa. Hmph! Horrible names if I do say so myself! You two are absolutely horrid people! I would be ashamed if I were to call you humans! You are the ones that made Christine leave! You are the ones that took her only reason for staying here away from her! I know about your relationships with the Vicomte and the Phantom, and believe me, I will make sure that everyone knows by the time you two even have the chance to stop me! You made Christine go back to Perros-Guirec, and now she's never coming back because of you two! And you should be in the auditorium working with everyone else!" Meg finished her little rant and began to storm off.

Nicole was not too entirely happy about all of this though. She would not stand to be told off by a ballet rat, so she grabbed the Giry's arm, spun her around and took her by the collar of her dress, getting right in her face. "Pardon moi, Mademoiselle crotte de l'opera? Would you mind repeating that? Who in the _hell _do you think you are, coming up to us and telling us that you will tell everyone about our personal business? You think you are so beautiful, so perfect, and that one day you will rule the world or something, but listen here, turd of the opera, you would not last one day outside of the shelter of the opera house. You could not even step out the door with out being afraid. I am sick and tired of you talking down to us when we are like, what? Four years older than you? If you want to start trouble, you just go ahead and tell everyone about us and what we do. I could care less about what you tell them about Raoul and I, but when you start telling stuff about Erik and Elsa,_ that's_ when you've gone too far. _That's _when you've _really pissed me off_. They are happy together. Elsa is able to give him something that your 'best friend' Miss Daae never could. If you are going to try and ruin that, may you rot in hell for it soon enough."

She pushed Meg away, releasing the collar of the dress wrinkled and disheveled due to how tight her grip was. Elsa was staring at Nicole as she walked away, then to the trembling ballerina, and then back to Nicole. She had never seen Nicole lash out at some one like that. She knew that she was perfectly capable of it, but she had never seen her do it. After she got over the shock she ran to catch up with her friend.

"Thanks," Elsa said as soon as they were in an unoccupied hallway. "I don't know what I would do with out you. I think the things and keep the anger inside, while you seem to read my mind and actually express it, even if it is less calm than I would have done it."

"It's no problem, you know I'm always here to back you up," Nicole replied with a smile. "She ruined our fun though. I wont let her ruin you and Erik."

* * *

Eesh, was I a little too harsh to the Bouncey BoobedBlonde Bimbo? Nah, I don't think so. evil laughter Review please!


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